Formal employment in the construction sector fell 4.6% year-on-year in November, marking three months of decline and consolidating itself as the area of greatest weakness in formal employment so far this year, according to data from the Institute. Mexican Social Security System (IMSS).
As of last November 30, the payroll of the industry was made up of one million 841,573 working people, an amount that is 87,881 lower than the figure computed at the same cut in 2023.
The construction sector contributes 8.1% of the total formal jobs registered with the Mexican Social Security Institute and is the fifth most important, behind manufacturing, business services, commerce and social services.
Demand for labor in the sector has been deteriorating in the last three months.
In November alone, 40,405 layoffs were recorded, while in October there were 5,564 and in September 16,810.
In net terms, from January to November, 25,358 new jobs were registered in the sector, however, this figure is 90% lower than the 249,888 that took place during the same period in 2024.
The weakness of the labor market in construction arises after last year the creation of employment in the sector registered a record with the net addition of more than 136,000 people (already considering the seasonal losses in the month of December), in the midst of the boom of iconic public works such as the Mayan Train or the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
This 2024, the sector is in clear deceleration due to a lower boost in public investment, as public works have been concluded.
According to figures from the Monthly Indicator of Industrial Activity (IMAI) published by the National Institute of Geography and Statistics (Inegi), as of September the accumulated growth of activity in the construction sector had fallen by half to 6.3%, from the 12.4% from September of last year.
Internally, this slip was mainly due to the strong slowdown in the activity of the civil engineering works subsector – which is mainly made up of public works – which, after growing 56.5% as of September 2023, only rose 2.3% in the ninth month. of this year.
