The latest monthly labour-market release puts Mexico’s economic participation rate at 58.5% in September and its unemployment rate at 2.8%. The figures compare with participation of 59.6% and unemployment of 3.0% in September 2025. The release was published on 22 October and covers people aged 15 and over.
Participation and unemployment moved in different directions
The participation rate measures the share of the population that is working or, if without work, actively looking for a job. Its 1.1 percentage-point annual decline therefore indicates a smaller share of people in the labour force. The unemployment rate, by contrast, measures people without work who are available and have taken steps to find employment, as a share of the economically active population.
The two rates should be read together rather than as interchangeable measures. A lower unemployment rate does not by itself mean that employment has grown: people who are not working and are not actively seeking a job are outside the labour force used as the unemployment-rate denominator. The published figures describe these movements but do not establish why participation changed.
The economically active population totalled 61.7 million people in September, 359,000 fewer than a year earlier. The number in work was 60.0 million, down by 267,000 year on year. The survey counted 1.8 million people as unemployed, a reduction of about 92,000 from September 2025. These headcounts and rates provide different views of the same labour market; the percentage-point comparisons should not be mistaken for changes in the number of people.
Employment totals differed by sex
Women accounted for 25.0 million of those in work, an annual increase of 578,000. Employment among men was 35.0 million, down by 845,000. The participation rate was 45.7% for women and 73.0% for men. Compared with September 2025, the women’s rate was up 0.1 percentage point, while the men’s rate fell by 2.4 points.
The unemployment rate was 2.7% for women and 2.9% for men. The year-on-year rate fell by 0.4 percentage point for women and was unchanged for men. These figures show distinct movements in employment and participation by sex, but do not on their own explain the differences or identify their causes.
Other indicators show the range of work conditions
The survey also reported 4.0 million people as underemployed, meaning they said they needed and were available to work more hours than their current job required. That was 363,000 fewer than a year earlier. The underemployment rate was 6.7% of employed people, compared with 7.3% in September 2025.
Informal employment accounted for 32.6 million people, or 54.3% of those in work, down from 54.9% a year earlier. The survey’s definition includes people whose work is vulnerable because of the type of economic unit they work for, as well as workers whose employment relationship is not recognised by their employer. It is broader than employment in the informal sector alone: the separate count working in that sector was 17.6 million, equivalent to 29.4% of employed people.
The rate of critical employment conditions was 37.5%, compared with 37.3% a year earlier. This measure is based on equivalent minimum-wage thresholds, using a January 2026 base, so its comparison reflects that stated basis.
What the monthly release can and cannot establish
The National Survey of Occupation and Employment tracks monthly participation, employment, informality, underemployment and unemployment among people aged 15 and over. Its September results describe a decline in participation and in the number employed alongside a lower unemployment rate. Taken together, those measures give a fuller account than the headline unemployment percentage alone.
The data are a statistical snapshot for the survey’s reference period, not a forecast or an explanation of economic causes. The reported annual comparisons do not show that one change caused another, and they should not be read as evidence of employment growth. The next monthly labour-market bulletin is scheduled for 26 November 2026.
