Introduction to Informal Employment in Querétaro
Querétaro, Qro. In the third quarter of the year, approximately 494,000 people were engaged in informal employment, accounting for 41.3% of the total employed population, according to the National Employment and Occupation Survey (ENOE).
Decline in Informal Employment
The informal employment rate decreased by 2.9 percentage points compared to the same period last year, when it stood at 44.2% of the employed population. This reduction affected nearly 32,000 individuals working under these conditions, as per the INEGI’s quarterly survey.
Gender Disparity in Informal Employment
Informal employment affects more women, with 43.8% of female workers in the July-September period exceeding the overall state informal employment rate by 2.5 percentage points.
In contrast, the informal employment rate for men is 39.3%, which is two percentage points lower than the overall state informal employment rate.
Reduction in Informal Employment Among Genders
While the informal employment rate in Querétaro has decreased over the past year, the reduction among women was 1.7 percentage points between the third quarter of 2024 and 2025, while men experienced a greater reduction of 3.9 percentage points.
Understanding Informal Employment
Informal employment includes individuals with vulnerable labor relationships due to the nature of their economic units, as well as those whose labor linkage or dependency does not recognize their source of work. This also encompasses people working in unregistered microenterprises, the informal sector, self-employed individuals in subsistence agriculture, and those without social security coverage, among other arrangements, as per the statistics institute.
Querétaro’s Informal Employment Rate vs. National Average
Querétaro’s informal employment rate is lower than the national average, which reached 55.4% of the employed population in the July-September period this year.
- Querétaro ranked sixth lowest in informal employment rates among Mexican states, with Coahuila (33.3%), Nuevo León (34.2%), Chihuahua (36.5%), Baja California (38.7%), and Baja California Sur (39.1%) having lower rates.
- States with the highest informal employment rates were Oaxaca (80.1%), Guerrero (77.2%), Chiapas (77%), Tlaxcala (72.1%), and Hidalgo (71.6%).
Key Questions and Answers
- What is informal employment? Informal employment refers to vulnerable labor relationships where individuals work in unregistered microenterprises, the informal sector, or without social security coverage.
- How many people were affected by informal employment in Querétaro? Approximately 494,000 people were engaged in informal employment, accounting for 41.3% of the total employed population.
- What was the decrease in informal employment rate in Querétaro? The informal employment rate decreased by 2.9 percentage points compared to the same period last year.
- Which genders were more affected by informal employment? Informal employment affected more women, with 43.8% of female workers exceeding the overall state informal employment rate by 2.5 percentage points.
- How does Querétaro’s informal employment rate compare to the national average? Querétaro’s informal employment rate is lower than the national average, which reached 55.4% of the employed population in the July-September period this year.
