Understanding the Poverty Among Young Mexicans
Poverty is a widespread issue affecting millions of Mexicans. Although poverty rates have decreased in recent years, significant challenges remain, particularly for young people who are considered the present and future of the country.
According to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), 31% of individuals aged 12 to 29 are living in poverty, equating to approximately 11.8 million people.
- Implications of the statistics: The incomes these young individuals receive are insufficient to acquire necessary goods and services, and they lack guaranteed access to at least one social right such as education, healthcare, social security, housing, and food.
- Extreme poverty: Among these 11.8 million, 2.1 million (5.6%) are living in extreme poverty, meaning they lack sufficient income and face three or more social deprivations.
- Age-specific breakdown: 36% of those aged 12 to 17 and 6.6% in extreme poverty; 28.8% of those aged 18 to 29 are in poverty, with 5% facing extreme conditions.
Rogelio Gómez, coordinator of Acción Ciudadana Frente a la Pobreza, states that “with these figures, the demographic bonus is being lost and could turn into a liability.”
What Lies Behind the Numbers?
Young people face a challenging labor scenario marked by informality, low wages, and long working hours due to a lack of experience and high competition for job openings.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) highlighted in the study “Youth in the Labor Market: Between Informality and Lack of Opportunities” that significant disparities affect young people, especially women and those in vulnerable situations.
- Unemployment rates: In Latin America and the Caribbean, including Mexico, youth unemployment is three times higher than for adults.
- Informal employment: Around 60% of young people work in the informal sector, limiting their access to social security and decent working conditions.
- Mismatch between skills and jobs: Many young people struggle to find employment aligned with their qualifications, exacerbated by the rise of new forms of work like digital platform jobs that offer flexibility but are often characterized by precariousness.
Specific Data
According to the study “Talento joven y empresas: oportunidades y desafíos” by ManpowerGroup and Junior Achievement Americas, 83% of young people have faced difficulties finding work. Sixty percent of respondents cited a lack of experience as their primary challenge.
Regarding informality, individuals aged 15 to 24 show a rate of 67%, higher than the national average, according to Inegi data.
In terms of wages, Indeed reports that after individuals aged 75 or older, young people earn the least. The analysis considers professionals and technicians aged 15 to 24, who earn an average monthly salary of 5,540 pesos for males and 4,090 pesos for females.
Max Jaramillo-Molina, a professor at the Sociology Department of the Center for Social and Human Sciences University, states that “this generation will be one of the most impoverished and with the least wealth: a smaller percentage will own homes, pay rent, have no savings, stable jobs, or pensions.”
Gómez adds that young people in poverty are more likely to remain in that condition for life due to significant disadvantages in health and education.
The Centro de Estudios Espinosa Yglesias (CEEY) notes that the low social mobility observed is due to a high disparity in opportunities.
Gómez explains that informality implies precarious jobs for young people, reflected in the lack of growth in formally registered jobs in the IMSS among this age group over the past six years.
This situation is further exacerbated for women, who often do not seek employment due to domestic or care responsibilities.
Gómez believes that this scenario could change with the implementation of public policies, such as a care system to increase female labor participation.
