What left the job in 2019

According to IMSS figures, 342,000 jobs were created in 2019, the lowest job creation in ten years. It is noteworthy that personnel in manufacturing barely grew 0.4%, in construction it contracted 0.8%, while in business services and commerce it advanced 2.4%.

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Let us focus on manufacturing and business services, which are the most important economic areas in employment.

Employment created in manufacturing in 2019 was just 22,388 jobs. In 2018, 227 thousand were generated.

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The economic stagnation is more than evident, which adds to the high uncertainty in the sector. It also appears that doubling the minimum wage at the border affected employment.

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In Tamaulipas, the personnel employed in manufacturing was reduced by 5,586 positions, in Coahuila 5,245, in Nuevo León it fell 4,862, Chihuahua just created 178 manufacturing positions in one year and in Baja California 3,055 positions were created, a sharp slowdown for that state.

8,633 manufacturing jobs were lost in Mexico City. In Edomex there was a marginal reduction (35 positions). In general terms, the states with the most weight in manufacturing did not create jobs last year.

For business services, the outlook looks more optimistic. This sector generated about 113 thousand jobs in 2019 vs 175 thousand during 2018.

The increases of 48 thousand places in Mexico City and 18 thousand in Jalisco stand out. Although the slowdown is evident (for example in Edomex and Baja California), the situation is better with respect to manufacturing.

There are areas of economic activity that continue to grow, which is reflected in greater demand for employment.

2020 looks to repeat the behavior of the previous year, with a manufacturing sector suffering from weak demand in the US and services advancing at a slow pace.

The new labor regime will be a new factor that could influence hiring decisions.