Mexico's informal employment rate stalls at 54.8% in 2026, jeopardizing 2030 reduction goal

In the first quarter of 2026, 54.8 % of Mexico’s employed population worked in informal jobs, a slight rise from 54.3 % in the same period of 2024. The number of informal workers grew to 32.6 million, up from 24 million in 2005, despite a modest 4.5‑point drop in the overall rate since 2005.

The observatory "México, ¿cómo vamos?" warns that this stagnation threatens the government’s target of reducing informal employment to 48.9 % by 2030. Analyst Alexa Castro noted only about a 5 % reduction between Q1 2025 and Q1 2026, and coordinator Axel González called the progress “insufficient.”

Informality remains highest in agriculture, forestry, fishing (84.6 %) and other services (83 %), while sectors such as corporate services, information, utilities, finance and education retain over 85 % formal employment. Women are disproportionately affected across all informal categories.