MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s labor market added 92,390 formal tax-paying jobs in August, data from social security institute IMSS showed on Saturday, as the country’s economy claws back jobs lost from the coronavirus spurred slowdown.
The Mexican economy has been especially hard hit by the pandemic, with health authorities confirming on Friday that the official death toll has surpassed 70,000, the fourth highest number of deaths globally.
The economy is seen contracting by up to 13% this year, the deepest downturn since the 1930s-era Great Depression.
Despite the modest August job gains, following several months of losses, the labor market has bled 833,100 formal jobs so far this year, according to IMSS data.
Formal jobs stem from contracts and include defined pay and tax obligations, while informal jobs mostly operate in cash and outside the law.
Slightly more than half of Mexican workers are thought to be employed informally.
(Reporting by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Daniel Wallis)
