.png)
In the first quarter of 2026, 551,000 jobs were created compared to the same period last year; specialists observe a deterioration in the labor market.
The Mexican labor market created 551,651 jobs in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2015, the lowest year-on-year figure since 2011, according to data from the National Survey of Occupation and Employment (ENOE).
In the first quarter of 2011, 534,469 jobs were created compared to the same period in 2010, according to figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).
“Mexico’s labor market continues to show signs of deterioration, consistent with economic stagnation, which is evident in the fact that all job growth was absorbed by informal employment,” warns Gabriela Siller, Director of Economic and Financial Analysis at Banco Base.
In the first quarter of this year, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted by 0.6% in real terms and with seasonally adjusted figures, according to data from INEGI (Mexico's National Institute of Statistics and Geography). With this result, the Mexican economy has now contracted three times in the last six quarters.
Furthermore, it was reported that the unemployed population increased by 70,471 people during the same period.
“Unfortunately, the labor system hasn't changed. Labor reforms are good, but they're not changing because the economy isn't generating the quality jobs we need, and most people are either excluded or unemployed,” says Rogelio Gómez Hermosillo, executive president of Acción Ciudadana Frente a la Pobreza (Citizen Action Against Poverty).
With this trend, the unemployment rate stood at 2.55% at the end of the first quarter, the lowest figure in the last four quarters.
“The rate remains low because the informal sector absorbs the population that cannot find sufficient opportunities in formal employment,” Siller points out.
For his part, Gómez Hermosillo emphasizes that job creation has been slow for at least a year, and what is being created are primarily informal jobs without access to social security.
Informal Employment Adds Half a Million Jobs
Informal employment increased by 583,153 people year-over-year, while formal employment decreased by 31,502 people.
With these results, the informal employment rate increased compared to the first quarter of 2025, rising from 54.31% to 54.78% in the first quarter of 2026.
“This indicates that the recent increases in the employed population are being absorbed by the informal sector, which means that new hires are being made under less favorable conditions,” explains Gabriela Siller.
This increase in informality creates a “vicious cycle” that discourages training, weakens competitiveness, and fragments the labor market, according to Fernando Bermúdez Pire, Director of Corporate Relations at ManpowerGroup.
“More than half of the Mexican workforce lacks benefits and social security, hindering the country's progress by keeping workers in a vulnerable situation, without access to benefits, retirement savings, or stability. It is imperative to implement more flexible formal hiring mechanisms and labor formalization policies that are adapted to the current reality,” says Bermúdez.
The population unavailable for work is growing.
The Economically Inactive Population (EIP), which refers to people who did not engage in economic activity and did not seek employment, increased by 1.1 million people annually.
Within Mexico, the working-age population decreased by 356,000 people, while the unavailable population (primarily women and those providing care) increased by 1.5 million.
The unavailable population reached 38.07 million people at the end of the first quarter of this year, the highest number of individuals in this situation since 2005, the earliest year for which records have been kept.
Employment Outlook for the Rest of 2026
Experts warn that the Mexican labor market is experiencing a period of stagnation, failing to reverse the informal economy and its negative effects on both workers—who lack social security—and the economy.
“The data shows the stagnation of the labor market, which isn't moving and hasn't managed to reverse its negative trend. The only thing that has moved is wages, but the labor market itself hasn't,” notes Rogelio Gómez Hermosillo.
Informality and the low participation of women in the workforce are the structural flaws of the Mexican labor market, according to Axel Eduardo González Gómez, data coordinator at "México ¿cómo vamos?".
Furthermore, the shift toward informality acts as a brake on economic growth, since formal employment is more productive and contributes more to GDP, unlike jobs in the informal sector, says Gabriela Siller.
“If the trend toward informalization isn't reversed, the national economy will continue to require increasingly expensive capital investments to generate even minimal levels of added value,” warns the specialist.
https://www.eleconomista.com.mx/capital-humano/mercado-laboral-genera-551-000-empleos-1t-2026-cifra-baja-anual-ultimos-15-anos-20260526-815400.html
