In Mexico, 336,000 new jobs were created in October 2025 compared to the same period last year. However, the increase of 89,529 positions in the manufacturing sector is still far from the goal of the Plan México, which aims to create an additional 1.5 million jobs in specialized manufacturing and key sectors by 2030, at a rate of 300,000 per year. In the services sector, the performance was more fragmented. October marked the beginning of the fourth quarter with a moderate deterioration in some labor market indicators. The unemployment rate rose to 2.6% from 2.5% a year earlier, while informal employment grew from 54.1% to 55.7% year-on-year, meaning that more than half of those working do so without social security or in vulnerable economic units, a persistent challenge for job quality. The rise in unemployment, however, is not due to a fall in employment but to more people entering the labor market. Although female unemployment fell slightly to 2.4% and male unemployment rose to 2.7%, the structural gap remains unchanged. As the consulting firm México, ¿cómo vamos? warns, 'one of the structural challenges of the labor market continues to be the low labor participation of women.' This additional flow meant that, despite an increase of one million employed, the proportion of people still looking for work rose slightly, increasing the unemployment rate. Labor poverty has fallen to its lowest level in years but still affects three out of ten Mexicans. By sector, performance was uneven. In October, the economically active population grew by 1.1 million compared to last year, increasing both the number of employed and the number of people seeking work. The economic participation of women remained at 46.7%, far below the 74.9% recorded among men. The manufacturing sector recorded an annual increase of 89,529 jobs and remains a strategic sector for the Mexican economy, accounting for 21.7% of GDP and over 60% of formal employment. This result is still far from Goal 3 of the Plan México. In contrast, two sectors saw significant declines: professional, financial, and corporate services, with a reduction of 140,000 jobs, and social services, with a decrease of 109,000. Data by gender confirms that deep gaps persist in the labor market. In October 2025, the gender labor participation gap was 28.6 percentage points, a persistent differential that limits the country's productive potential. Restaurants and accommodation added 381,000 jobs, and commerce added 253,000. Unlike previous quarters, secondary activities showed stronger gains.
