By Eliane Portillo

The Mexican labor market experienced at the end of 2011 a positive performance, better than expected by analysts. This way, although it has failed to recover the pre-crisis levels, unemployment rate ranked in its lowest level in the past three years.

The National Institute of statistics reported that the unemployment rate finished 2011 in 4.51%, below 4.94% in December 2010 and 4.8% in December 2009. The information is consistent with a good performance of some sectors that are linked to the domestic market in the second half of last year, such as construction and services (particularly trade).

It is important to bear in mind that employment and unemployment indicators tend to have a lagging performance compared to the economic dynamics that recruitment and personnel reemployment occurs once there is sufficient confidence and evidence of the conditions for business to improve.

After the crisis of 2008 and 2009, the pace of growth in places of work has been very dynamic. This obviously has to do with a better economic situation and greater stability in the macroeconomic components during 2010 and 2011.

Average unemployment rate was 5.2% in 2011, against 5.37% in 2010 and 5.46% in 2009.

Analysts claimed that during 2012, economic growth will be moderate, with important downside risks. For this reason, we believe that the unemployment rate will continue around the 5.0%, with a downward trajectory. This way, by the end of 2012 the unemployment rate could be of 4.8% in average.