At the end of December, the average base salary for contributions to the IMSS was 627.9 pesos per day, the highest level recorded for the month of December.
In annual terms, the salary grew 6.9% nominally, one of the highest increases for that month in the historical series, in a context of lower inflation and salary adjustments accumulated in recent years.
However, this wage increase did not translate into an equivalent expansion of formal employment. In the last twelve months, the number of jobs registered with the IMSS increased by 278,697 positions, which represented an annual growth of just 1.3%, one of the lowest rates observed recently.
In addition, 86.9% of registered positions are permanent, a record proportion for the month of December, which suggests greater formalization and stability of existing staff.
However, this improvement coexists with a lower net creation of positions, which suggests that companies are prioritizing the retention and salary adjustment of their current workers, rather than an accelerated expansion of new hires.
In December, as is usual due to seasonal factors, a monthly loss of 320,692 jobs was recorded, although the IMSS itself highlighted that this is the most moderate relative fall for a December in the last decade, without considering the period of the pandemic.
By sector, employment growth was concentrated in transportation and communications, as well as commerce, while key activities such as manufacturing and construction registered annual declines. This behavior reinforces the reading of a labor market that is resilient, but with less momentum in sectors traditionally linked to productive investment.
Weak employment when considering platform workers
The growth of formal employment in 2025 was strongly influenced by the reform of digital platforms. According to the pilot program, 206,521 people exceeded the entry threshold and were incorporated into the IMSS under this scheme, in a year in which the total increase in places was 278,697.
However, the institute does not detail in the statement how these records are integrated into the net balance of formal employment or whether they replace or add to pre-existing positions, which makes it impossible to precisely isolate the performance of traditional employment outside of the reform.
