Mexico Formal Employment Record High October 2026 IMSS, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico City): Mexico reached a historic high of 23,888,353 formal jobs registered with the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) in October 2026, following the creation of 161,077 jobs during that month, according to President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo.
According to information published by Animal Político, the president presented the labor indicators during her press conference. She reported that monthly growth in formal employment was 0.7 percent, while the cumulative increase between January and October reached 2.5 percent.
The figures also show an annual change of 1.3 percent, equivalent to 299,180 additional jobs compared with October 2025. The number of workers affiliated with the Social Security Institute reached its highest level since this indicator began to be tracked.
The historical trend of formal employment shows that at the start of the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador in December 2018, Mexico had 20,192,960 jobs registered with the IMSS. The labor market later faced a contraction due to the Covid-19 health emergency, when formal jobs fell to 19,495,952 as economic activity was suspended and restrictions were imposed to contain the spread of the virus.
After that decline, formal employment began a recovery that continued in the following years, reaching 22,480,803 jobs at the beginning of Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration. Since then, the indicator has generally trended upward, surpassed 23 million jobs during 2026, and reached 23,888,353 registrations in October.
The progress comes as the federal government keeps among its priorities increasing workers’ purchasing power, expanding social security coverage and implementing changes to working conditions.
On wages, Labor and Social Welfare Secretary Marath Bolaños López reported on October 6, during his appearance before the Chamber of Deputies in connection with the review of the Second Government Report, that 22,798,473 jobs were registered with the IMSS at the close of August. At that presentation, he said August’s figure also represented a historic high for that month and argued that wage increases could coexist with formal job creation and the expansion of labor rights.
As part of his assessment, Bolaños said the general minimum wage rose from 88 pesos per day in 2018 to 315 pesos in 2026, in nominal terms. According to the secretary’s data, this increase represented a real recovery of 150 percent in minimum wage purchasing power.
The labor secretary also presented figures on women’s participation in the labor market, which rose from 38.8 percent in 2020 to 41 percent in 2025, according to indicators presented to lawmakers.
Another program included in the review was Jóvenes Construyendo el Futuro, which since its launch in 2019 has registered more than 3.6 million beneficiaries, according to official figures. Bolaños added that seven of every 10 program graduates work or continue their studies, and that during the first years of the Sheinbaum administration the program has served 619,000 young people with an investment of 44 billion pesos.
The October data place formal employment affiliated with the IMSS at a new historic high. However, these figures refer specifically to positions registered with the institute and do not by themselves represent all employed people in the country, since part of the economically active population works in informal conditions.
