647 thousand jobs lost in Mexico in 2020 due to COVID-19

Figures published by the IMSS show that the COVID-19 pandemic left the lowest annual and monthly employment figures so far in recent years.

MEXICO (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social/IMSS) – The pandemic left a balance of 647,710 jobs lost in 2020, of which 560,473 were formal and 87,237 were temporary, according to the latest figures published by the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS). 

The decline goes hand in hand with the loss of more than one million jobs from March to July due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an illness that arrived in Mexico at the end of February.

After the fall in jobs, a small rise ensued with the creation of 555,600 jobs from August to November. In December, there was a loss of 277,820 formal jobs, but this is the smallest loss of employment for a December in the last five years. 

As of December 31, 2020, 19 million 773 thousand 732 jobs were registered with the IMSS, of which 86% were permanent and 14% were temporary, identical percentages to those reported the previous year.

As for the work sectors, those that saw a growth in jobs during 2020 were: agriculture, social and community services, and electricity; however, their growth percentages are low compared to the previous year’s figures, according to IMSS figures.

Increase in Salaries
In 2020, the average salary was 408 pesos, which, according to the IMSS, represented an annual nominal increase of 7.9%, the highest for a December month in the last ten years.

The same comparison was made for 2019, with a base salary of 378.1 pesos, representing a nominal annual increase of 6.7%. In the last decade, yearly increases had not exceeded 6%.

In turn, the IMSS highlighted that social security was provided to nearly 8 million people at the end of last year and during December. 26,748 people joined the Pilot Program for Home Workers (Phase II).

Pre-Pandemic
2019 was the year in which fewer formal jobs had been created during the last decade. According to data from the IMSS, the pandemic brought even more negative numbers in this area.

On the other hand, the monthly rate of job losses last year was -1.4%, less than the -1.8% registered in the preceding month of the five previous years.

At the same time, 2019 closed with annual growth driven by the communications and transportation sector with 5.6%, commerce with 2.4%, and business services with 2.4%. The year 2020 saw a much smaller increase: 1.4% in the agricultural sector, 0.4% in social and community services, and only 0.3% in electricity.

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