Informal employment in Mexico
Mexico: Informal employment was 34,409 in 2026. ▲ Rising
Informal employment in Mexico, 2002–2026
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
Mexico recorded 34,409 for informal employment in 2026. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.
That represents a change of up 16.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, informal employment in Mexico peaked at 34,409 in 2026 and was at its lowest, 25,727, in 2002.
Mexico ranks 7th of 81 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Informal employment in Mexico, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 25,727 | — |
| 2003 | 26,354 | +2.4% |
| 2004 | 26,879 | +2.0% |
| 2008 | 26,422 | -1.7% |
| 2009 | 27,319 | +3.4% |
| 2010 | 27,914 | +2.2% |
| 2011 | 27,958 | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 28,894 | +3.3% |
| 2013 | 28,897 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 28,537 | -1.2% |
| 2015 | 29,258 | +2.5% |
| 2016 | 29,546 | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 29,903 | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 30,629 | +2.4% |
| 2019 | 31,463 | +2.7% |
| 2020 | 28,882 | -8.2% |
| 2021 | 31,285 | +8.3% |
| 2022 | 33,483 | +7.0% |
| 2023 | 34,115 | +1.9% |
| 2024 | 34,034 | -0.2% |
| 2025 | 34,399 | +1.1% |
| 2026 | 34,409 | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 26,540 | 25,727 | 27,319 | 5 |
| 2010s | 29,300 | 27,914 | 31,463 | 10 |
| 2020s | 32,944 | 28,882 | 34,409 | 7 |
Countries ranked near Mexico
More work & labour data for Mexico
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.5786 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.5539 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.6038 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.41 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.5363 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 144,910 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 19,369 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 65,616 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 64,633 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 130,249 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is informal employment in Mexico?
- Informal employment in Mexico was 34,409 in 2026, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest informal employment recorded in Mexico?
- The highest recorded value was 34,409 in 2026.
- What is the lowest informal employment recorded in Mexico?
- The lowest recorded value was 25,727 in 2002.
- How does Mexico rank for informal employment?
- Mexico ranks 7th out of 81 countries with data for 2026.
- Is informal employment rising or falling in Mexico?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Mexico data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Informal employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series is based on the 13th ICLS definitions. For time series comparability, it includes countries that have implemented the 19th ICLS standards, for which data are also available in the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database. This harmonized series for informal employment is derived using the same set of criteria across countries to improve comparability. The criteria used are based on employment status, institutional sector, destination of production, bookkeeping, registration, social security contribution, places of work and size. Data disaggregated by occupation are provided according to the latest version of the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO). Data may have been regrouped from the national classifications, which may not be strictly compatible with ISCO. For more information, refer to the Labour Force Statistics (LFS and STLFS) database description.