More than a year after the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico, 2.3 million people were reported unemployed in May; which represented 4% of the economically active population (EAP); 388,000 more than in May 2020.
The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) announced that the unemployment rate is lower than the 4.7% reported last April and the 4.2% registered in May 2020, when Mexico was facing the health emergency due to COVID-19 that suspended non-essential activities of the economy.
Compared to May 2020, the unemployment rate was reduced by 0.2 percentage points. With seasonally adjusted figures and in comparison with the immediately previous month, in May 2021 the unemployment rate registered a decrease of 0.4 percentage points to stand at 4.1%, while the underemployment rate decreased 0.6 percentage points, to settle at 12.5 percent .
Meanwhile, the EAP amounted to 57.2 million people, 12 million more than in May 2020, a month of confinement due to the pandemic; the employed population was 54.9 million, 11.6 million more than the same month of 2020, “explained Julio A. Santaella, president of Inegi on his Twitter account.
Inegi considers employees over 15 years of age who work at least 6 hours a week and in any position.
The underemployed population, which declared having the need and availability to have more hours of work than those allowed by their current occupation, represented 12.9% of the total employed population compared to 29.9% in 2020.
“The labor participation rate was estimated at 58.3% (seasonally adjusted) at the national level and 58.6% in the urban aggregate, rates that are compared with 59% and 58.6% in April 2021, still below the levels prior to the pandemic “, highlighted Santaella.
By sex, the participation rate of men was 75.4% and that of women 43.9% , which represents an annual increase of 14.3 percentage points for them and only 8.6 for them.
Regarding informal employment, Inegi announced that in May, informal employment amounted to 30.5 million and placed the rate at 55.5%.
62.4% of the employed population was concentrated in the commerce and services sector, 25.1% in the industrial sector, 12% in primary activities and 0.6% did not specify activity.
Of the total employed, 68.2% operate as a subordinate and paid worker occupying a position or job, 22.7% work independently or on their own without hiring employees and 5% are employers or employers.
The unemployment rate closed at 4.4% in the first quarter of 2021, an increase of 1 percentage point compared to 3.4% in the same period of 2020.
With information from EFE.
