Mexico Formal Jobs Pass 23 Million, IMSS Figures Show
Mexico's formal jobs topped 23 million, per IMSS figures the government cited, with 161,077 added in September and October. Wage and job trends inside.
Mexico has more than 23 million formal jobs, a record, according to figures from the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) that President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government presented. Expansión Política reported that 161,077 formal jobs were added between September and October.
Formal jobs are those registered with IMSS, which means workers are enrolled in the public social security system. The count does not include informal work.
How many jobs were added this year
From January through October, 571,277 formal jobs were created, according to the government figures. Expansión Política describes this as a 1.3% increase over the same period of 2025, and as 299,180 more jobs than a year earlier. The report does not spell out how those two comparisons relate, so readers should treat the year-on-year framing with some caution.
Where the count started
When Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s government began in December 2018, the country had 20.2 million formal jobs. The covid-19 pandemic, which began in 2020, pushed that figure down to 19.5 million. IMSS data cited by the government show 697,008 formal jobs were lost in that period.
By the time Sheinbaum took office in October 2024, the total was 22.5 million. With the new record, the government says 607,550 formal jobs have been added in two years.
The minimum wage under Sheinbaum
The general minimum wage has risen 26.6% in nominal terms during Sheinbaum’s two years in office, according to the report. It went from 248.93 pesos per day in 2024 to 315.04 pesos per day in 2026, an increase of 66.11 pesos per day. “Nominal” means the figure is not adjusted for inflation.
Sheinbaum has set a goal for the end of her term in 2030: a minimum wage that can buy 2.5 baskets of basic goods (canastas básicas).
What this means for workers and residents
A formal job comes with IMSS enrollment, which covers health care and other social security benefits for the worker. A larger formal workforce therefore means more people registered in that system. For anyone employed in Mexico, including foreign residents working under a contract, the minimum wage of 315.04 pesos per day is the legal floor in 2026.
The figures come from the government’s presentation of IMSS data. The report gives no breakdown by state, sector or by Mexico City, so it does not show how much of the growth happened in the capital.
Source: Expansión Política
