Mexico’s unemployment rate inched up to 2.6% in February 2026, from 2.5% a year earlier, in line with market expectations. The number of unemployed reached 1.6 million, an increase of 76,000 year-on-year.
By gender, female unemployment rose to 693,000, up by 53,000, while male unemployment totaled 907,000, an increase of 23,000. The corresponding unemployment rates were 2.8% for women and 2.5% for men.
In terms of educational attainment, 10.3% of the unemployed had not completed secondary school, whereas 89.6% had at least secondary or higher education. By age group, the majority of the unemployed were between 25 and 44 years old (47.4%), followed by those aged 15 to 24 (34.1%).
Regarding job search duration, 41.5% of the unemployed had been without work for one month or less, while 38.4% had been unemployed for more than one month but no longer than three months.
Underemployment—workers seeking more hours or an additional job—increased to 7.0%, from 6.3% in February 2025. The share of workers in critical employment conditions, defined as earning less than the equivalent of the minimum wage, edged up to 39.3% from 38.9%. Informal employment remained elevated at 54.8%, compared with 54.5% a year earlier.
