Friday, August 29, 2025

IMSS reports highest average salary increase in 21 years

The Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) reported the highest salary increase in 21 years in June, although job creation during the month was sluggish.

Employees registered with IMSS earned an average salary of 534.1 pesos (US $30.89) per day in June, equivalent to a monthly salary of 16,245 pesos (US $939.26). This represented an 11.2% increase from last year, or 5.8% in real terms.

Changes to the IMSS law mean new responsibilities for some employers.
Pay has once again increased, says IMSS, and is now at an average of 534.1 pesos per day, or US $30.89. (IMSS)

“Considering an annual inflation of 5.18% in the period (according to data from the first half of June), the real increase in the average base salary was 5.78%, the highest real-term growth since February 2002,” reported an analysis by the Mexican financial firm Banco Base.

Wage increases have been a trend throughout President López Obrador’s administration, in which nominal annual increases of 6% or more have been seen every month since January 2019.

Carlos Ramírez, a consultant for Integralia, explained to El Financiero newspaper that this wage growth is due to a combination of rising minimum wages, high inflation and a tight labor market.

“Companies are having to pay more to retain or attract people,” he said.

AMLO at morning press conference
Wage growth has been a consistent theme of President López Obrador’s government. He has said he would like to see the minimum wage reach 260 pesos by the end of his term in 2024. (Gob. de México)

President López Obrador has made raising the minimum wage a priority of his administration. It was just 88 pesos per day when he took office in 2018 and is now up to 207.44 pesos (US $11.99) in most of the country. 

AMLO has said he wants it to reach 260 pesos (US $15.03) by the time he leaves office in 2024, despite some economists’ fears that the increases may be fueling inflation. 

Although the wage increases reported by the IMSS are encouraging, job creation last month was below average. The IMSS reported that 24,398 new positions were created in June, well below the 42,618 created the previous month, and below the 10-year June average of 29,000. Over the first six months of the year, however, 514,411 jobs were created – the second highest figure on record.

“Traditionally the month of June has weak job creation,” Ramírez told El Financiero. “I do not see anything to worry about; traditionally there is some volatility.”

Mónica Flores, president of ManpowerGroup LATAM, agreed that job creation tends to be slow in the second quarter of the year. Manpower forecasts that Mexico will create between 250,000 and 300,000 jobs between July and September.

Economic sectors with the largest job growth are currently the construction, transport and communications, and commerce sectors. ManpowerGroup LATAM also predicts strong growth over the next quarter in health and life sciences, transport, logistics and automotive and the manufacturing sector.

With reports from Milenio and El Financiero

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
A wall of import/export shipping containers

Good news for Trump: Mexico is planning to raise tariffs on Chinese imports

4
Mexico's 2026 budget proposal includes increased tariffs on China, a move the Trump administration has been pushing since early this year.
A California red-legged frog

With help from Mexico, this rare frog is making a comeback in California 

2
The endangered California red-legged frog was on its last legs in Southern California until Mexican biologists joined what became a cross-border rehabilitation effort.
Two men shake hands in front of an Amazon logo in Mexico City

Amazon teams up with Mexico City to save water with tech-driven infrastructure upgrades

0
In addition to water savings, automation will allow the city to direct water to eastern CDMX, an area historically plagued by shortages.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity