Mexico's Top Economic Sectors by Employment in 2025: INEGI

The Mexican labor market reached an employed population of 59.8 million people by the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the results of the National Survey of Occupation and Employment (ENOE) from INEGI. The data confirms that the tertiary sector remains the primary generator of jobs, absorbing the majority of the country’s workforce. Within this sector, commerce solidified its position as the activity with the highest impact, employing 12 million people, which represents 20.1% of the national total. This segment registered an annual increase of 298 thousand workers, making it the component with the most dynamic growth during the period.

Overview of Leading Economic Sectors by Employment

The distribution of Mexico’s 59.8 million workers shows a significant concentration in service and manufacturing activities. The current composition is divided as follows: -Tertiary Sector (Services and Commerce): Accounts for 38.4 million people. In addition to commerce, diverse services stand out with 6.2 million and social services with 4.8 million workers. -Secondary Sector (Industrial): Employs 14.7 million people. The manufacturing industry accounts for 9.6 million, while the construction sector contributes 4.7 million jobs. -Primary Sector: Consists of 6.2 million people dedicated to

«The sectors that showed the largest increases in their employed population were commerce, with 298 thousand people; construction, with 106 thousand; and transportation, communications, mail, and storage, with 92 thousand people,» specifies the INEGI document. Despite growth in commerce, other areas experienced setbacks in their workforce. Social services reported a decrease of 238 thousand people, while the manufacturing industry recorded a decline of 48 thousand workers compared to the last quarter of 2024.

Regarding employment quality, the labor informality rate stood at 55.0% of the employed population. This means that 32.9 million people are in vulnerable employment schemes, a figure that shows a slight increase compared to the 54.5% registered in the same period of the previous year. Finally, the technical report indicates that the national unemployment rate was 2.5%, representing 1.6 million people who sought employment unsuccessfully during the end of the year. These indicators reflect a labor market that, while adding new positions in the tertiary sector, faces structural challenges in formalizing its workforce.

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