Mexico Unemployment Rate Rises to 8-Month High

Mexico's unemployment rate rose to 2.9% in June 2026 from 2.8% in May, the highest level since September 2025 and slightly above market expectations of 2.8%. The number of unemployed people totaled 1.8 million. The unemployment rate stood at 3.0% for women and 2.8% for men. By age group, individuals aged 25 to 44 accounted for 48.4% of the unemployed, followed by those aged 15 to 24 at 29.6%. Among the unemployed, 89.4% had completed at least secondary education. Regarding unemployment duration, 43.5% had been jobless for one month or less, while 30.3% had been unemployed for more than one month but no longer than three months. Meanwhile, the underemployment rate, which measures employed workers seeking additional hours, was 6.6%. The economically inactive population totaled 43.3 million people, or 41.2% of those aged 15 and over.

Mexico's unemployment rate increased to 2.8% in May 2026, marking the highest level in eight months, up from 2.5% in April. The number of unemployed individuals incresed by 200 thousand to 1.7 million, while employed persons declined by the same amount to 60.4 million. The economically active population remained unchanged at 62.1 million, with the labor force participation rate holding steady at 59.1%. Among employed workers, salaried workers kept the biggest share at 68.5%, followed by self-employed (22.3%), employers (5.9%) and unpaid family workers (3.4%). By sector, services accounted for 44.4%, followed by commerce (19.9%), manufacturing (16.2%), agriculture (10.0%) and construction (8.0%). The unemployement rate was higher for women (2.8%) than men (2.7%). 12% of unemployed individuals had not completed secondary education, while 88% had attained a higher level of education. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the unemployment rate edged up to 2.7% in May from 2.6% in April.

Mexico's unemployment rate came in at 2.5% in April 2026, matching the level seen a year earlier and below the expected 2.7%. The number of unemployed individuals decreased by 135 thousand to 1.5 million, while the number of employed grew by 704 thousand to 60.6 million. The economically active population climbed by 873 thousand to 42.9 million, leading to a participation rate of 59.1%. Of those employed, 41.6 million (68.6%) were salaried workers, while 13.4 million (22.1%) were self-employed. By sector, services employed 26.8 million people (44.2%), followed by trade with 11.7 million (19.3%), manufacturing with 10 million (16.4%), agriculture with 6.1 million (10.1%), and construction with 5.2 million (8.6%). Among the unemployed, 10.9% had not completed secondary education, compared with 89.1% with higher education. Most were aged 25 to 44 (45.1%), followed by ages 15 to 24 (34.3%). On a seasonally adjusted basis, the unemployment rate fell to 2.6% from 2.8% in the prior month