Mexico's informal economy accounted for 25.2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2026, its highest share since the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) began tracking the figure in 2005. The finding comes from the Quarterly Informal Economy Measurements by Federal Entity (MEITEF), published by Inegi this week and covered by El Universal.

The figure arrives at a moment when informality is outpacing the broader economy: it grew 2% year-on-year between January and March, compared with just 0.2% for national GDP. The value generated by the informal sector reached 5.943 trillion pesos, the highest first-quarter figure since 2005, according to El CEO, which also draws on Inegi data. That activity generates income outside the Income Tax (ISR) system, the levy that accounts for roughly 60 out of every 100 pesos of tax revenue, according to the same report.

The uptick spread across much of the country, though with sharply divergent trajectories by state. Hidalgo led informal sector growth at 8.4% annually in real terms, followed by the State of Mexico (6.2%) and Nuevo León (5.7%). By contrast, Campeche has posted five consecutive quarters of decline, despite the broad-based rebound that Banamex analysts observed in the first quarter. The measurement counted 16.4 million paid positions in the informal economy; the State of Mexico concentrated 12.6% of the total, roughly 2.1 million jobs. The International Labour Organization links informal economy expansion to high unemployment, underemployment, and precarious work, where operating without registration is often the only viable means of sustenance.

Inegi publishes the MEITEF each quarter, so the next release, covering April through June, will show whether informality maintains its pace and in which states it accelerates or moderates. That reading will serve as a benchmark for tracking the evolution of the country's labor base.

This article was written with artificial intelligence assistance based on verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.