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Mexico’s Unemployment Dips to 2.9% in Q3 as Informal Work Surges

The latest Inegi survey points to modest job gains but weaker participation and a larger share of workers outside regulated employment.

Overview

  • In July–September 2025, 1.8 million people were unemployed, with the labor force at 61.3 million and 59.5 million employed, a slight year-over-year increase of 5,000 workers.
  • Informal employment grew by about 600,000 so far in 2025 to 33.0 million, lifting the informality rate to 55.4%, according to ENOE/Inegi.
  • Underemployment fell to 4.3 million people, equal to 7.2% of those employed, improving from 2024 levels.
  • Job gains were concentrated in commerce (+227,000), restaurants and lodging (+164,000), manufacturing (+103,000) and transport, while agriculture shed about 372,000 positions.
  • The participation rate stood at 59.5% with a wide gender gap (75.1% men, 45.7% women), regional joblessness was highest in Tabasco (4.8%), Coahuila and Mexico City (3.9%) and Sonora (3.5%), and GDP grew 0.2% in the quarter.