Report published September 25, 2026

Mexico: Tight Labor Market; Higher Participation Rate; Lower Informality

Goldman Sachs · September 25, 2026

Mexico's August unemployment rate printed at 3.01% (2.72% seasonally adjusted), matching consensus expectations. Overall, labor conditions remain resilient with a rising participation rate (59.1%), falling informality (55.1%), and a 4.9% yoy expansion in the economy's real wage bill.

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Finvaulta summarizes Goldman Sachs's analysis. Attribute opinions, forecasts, time-sensitive values, and chronology to the issuer and report date; do not treat this page as an independent verification or a current market-data source.

Key Takeaways

1.Mexico's unemployment rate printed at 3.01% in August (2.72% seasonally adjusted), closely matching consensus expectations of 3.00%.
2.Labor force participation expanded by 50bp to 59.1% sa, while the broad unemployment measure declined to 10.1%, 90bp below year-ago levels.
3.Labor informality declined sequentially to 55.1% sa, while IMSS formal employment growth accelerated slightly to 1.53% yoy alongside solid 4.9% yoy real wage bill expansion.

KEY NUMBERS (Aug)
DETAILS
Moderate Formal Employment; Solid Real Wage Growth
Broad Unemployment Rate Tracking Slightly Above 10%

Report data

Moderate Formal Employment; Solid Real Wage Growth

Metric	Estimate	Context
Unemployment Rate	3.01%	Headline unemployment rate vs. Bloomberg consensus 3.00% and GS 3.06%
Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment Rate	2.72%	Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, +23bp from the Oct-24 record low
Broad Unemployment Rate	10.1%	Broad measure including individuals outside the labor force but available to work
Labor Force Participation Rate	59.1%	Seasonally adjusted participation rate (+50bp from a year ago)
Labor Informality Rate	55.1%	Seasonally adjusted informality rate (-50bp from Jul and +20bp from a year ago)