Mexico formal employment record IMSS October 2026, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico): Mexico reached a new all-time high of 23,088,353 jobs registered with the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) during October 2026, according to President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, who announced the figure Monday, November 9, at her morning press conference at the National Palace.
The president said the country surpassed 23 million registered positions for the first time under the agency’s current measurement, adding 161,000 new jobs in a single month. “We reached the highest figure in the entire history: 23,088,353 formal jobs registered with the IMSS in October; these are 161,000 new positions in one month,” Sheinbaum said.
The announcement follows another historic figure recorded in September. According to the IMSS report for September, Mexico had 22,927,276 registered jobs at the close of that month.
Comparing that figure with the October count shows a net increase of 161,077 positions, roughly 0.7% month over month, and September itself added 128,803 positions.
Year to date, the number of net new positions through October is reported at 571,277, and compared with October 2025, when the IMSS counted 22,789,173 positions, the new total represents 299,180 additional jobs, an annual increase of about 1.3%.
The indicator counts jobs registered with the Social Security Institute, including permanent and temporary positions, and does not represent the total number of people working in Mexico. Other social security systems exist, and millions of workers carry out activities without labor protection.
The IMSS had reported 23,591,691 registrations in July 2025, a figure driven by the initial incorporation of digital platform workers. The institute later began distinguishing between platform-linked affiliations and positions that meet the requirements to access all insurance benefits, so the October 2026 record should be understood under the current methodology, which allows more consistent comparisons across periods.
Broader labor market data show a more complex picture. According to the National Survey of Occupation and Employment (ENOE) from the Inegi for September 2026, 54.3% of the employed population worked in informal conditions, down from 54.9% a year earlier.
The survey counted nearly 60 million employed people, about 267,000 fewer than in September 2025, and the unemployment rate stood at 2.8%.
The differing results reflect distinct data sources: administrative records from the IMSS and household surveys from Inegi measure different populations. The announcement confirms further progress in registered employment, while the challenge of expanding formalization and improving working conditions for millions of Mexicans remains.
