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Mexico’s 2025 Formal Jobs Up 1.3% as Platform Formalization Drives Gains, December Sees Seasonal Drop

Analysts highlight weak non‑platform hiring heading into early 2026.

Overview

  • IMSS reported a loss of 320,692 registered positions in December (-1.4%), the customary year‑end adjustment and one of the mildest December declines in a decade.
  • For 2025, net formal job creation reached 278,697 (up 1.3% year over year), with 22.52 million jobs and 23.90 million total IMSS affiliations at year‑end.
  • The mid‑year pilot to register app‑based workers added 206,521 platform earners with full IMSS benefits, accounting for roughly three‑quarters of the year’s gains.
  • Excluding platforms, net formal hiring totaled about 72,176 positions, underscoring subdued momentum even as the average base wage hit a December record of 627.9 pesos per day (+6.9% year over year).
  • Transport and communications led annual growth (13.7%) while extractive, agricultural and construction sectors contracted, and employer surveys point to cautious hiring plans for the first quarter of 2026.