Only a minority of Mexicans between 15 and 19 years old have a formal job. Most of them earn from 1 to 2 minimum wages. Ratification of ILO’s Convention 181 would stop the informal sector from being the main source of opportunities for young people in the country.

In Mexico, young people’s image is not a nice thing to see: 85% of employed youngsters earns less than 6 thousand Mexican pesos per month. Only 25% of formal jobs created during last year were for young people. With this situation, most youngsters turn to informality.

According to a report made by Zenyazen Flores for El Financiero, specialists from the National Autonomous Mexican University (UNAM) and from the Centre of Research for Development (CIDAC), have agreed on the fact that the labour situation of young people has changed very little after the 2009 crisis.

The National Occupation and Employment survey (ENOE) indicates that between April and June 2014, 85% of the 14.648.678 employed youngsters earn less than 6 thousand monthly Mexican pesos. In other words, 12.543.652 persons between 15 and 29 years old have an income lower than three minimum wages.

Among those employed youngsters, 1.580.816 do not receive any income and 1.325.059 did not specify their incomes.

The ENOE, created by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), shows that the number of young people who earns less that MEX 6.000 was slightly decreased on a 0, 6% (70.728) when compared to the same period during 2013. However, it has grown 3% (373.616) in comparison to the same period of time during 2010.

According to data provided by the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS), 603.240 jobs were created from July 2013 till July 2014, out of which only 26% were for young people between 15 and 29 years old, that is to say 154.576 jobs.

Formal employment creation during the mentioned period registered a growth of 3, 7%. However, employment growth among young people from 15 to 29 years old was of 2, 8%.

On July 2014 there were almost 17 million workers with social security protection. 32, 7% of them are young people (5,545,989 youngsters).

This implicates a decrease from the 2007 levels, prior to the economic crisis, when the percentage of young people registered was of 36, 5%.

The low percentage of young people in the formal market has several causes. For those people who graduate from the University and have no labour experience it is more difficult to enter the labour market. Frequently, the skills these people have when entering the labour market are insufficient.

Data from the ENOE state that between April and June 2014 there were 28, 620, 000 persons informally employed, out of which 6, 258, 000 are young people aged between 14 and 24 years old. The total informality rate is 58% and among young people it is 69%.

With such rates it is important to wonder how this situation might be modified. Throughout the world, Private Employment Agencies are a main entry towards the formal labour market for young people. Mexico has an urgent need to ratify ILO’s Convention 181 on Private Employment Agencies in order to lower informality rates among young people, to increase decent labour and to articulate public-private policies to build a fairer and more inclusive labour market.

It is important that Mexican legislators address this issue and provide young people with an alternative to informality.