According to the recently published OECD Employment Outlook 2015, Mexico faces great challenges in skills and informality. The formal outsourcing industry could strongly contribute to solve this challenge.

• Unemployment in Mexico is low (4.3% in Q1 2015) relative to the OECD average (7%), and has been declining in recent years.

• The incidence of long-term unemployment is extremely low (1.5% in Q4 2014) and it has remained fairly constant in the recent past, while it has reached alarming levels in the rest of the OECD (36% in Q4 2014).

• Youth unemployment, at 8.6% (Q1 2015), is considerably below the OECD average (14.2%) and on a slow downward trend.

• Mexico continues to be plagued by relatively low participation rates, reflected in an employment rate of 60.7% (Q1 2015), which shows no signs of converging to the OECD average (65.9%).

• Mexico continues to be among the OECD countries with the highest rates of youth not in employment, education or training (NEET). This group represents 22.4% of the 15-29 population, well above the 14% OECD average.

• Mexico is also the OECD country that spends the least on Active Labour Market Policies (ALMPs). Effective activation measures help connect unemployed and inactive people with jobs, and could play a pivotal role in reducing inactivity. To achieve this goal, ALMPs would need to strengthen the motivation to seek work, while also improving the employability of jobseekers and their job opportunities.

Regulatory framework fitted for the 21^st century’s reality and ratification of ILO’s Convention 181 on Private Employment Agencies shall enable de formal outsourcing industry to improve employability, increase formality and make the Mexican labour market more dynamic.

To read the OECD about Mexico in English, download the file attached.

Employment-Outlook-Mexico-EN