Formal employment in the steel industry in Mexico decreased in March, 0.3 percent, year-over-year, to 141,973 workers. Despite the national decline, the largest steel economy in the country, Nuevo León, registered its third consecutive historical record, according to SteelOrbis analysis of official data.
In total, it is the second consecutive annual decline after 34 consecutive months of increase in the generation of new jobs.
Despite the decline in the country, Nuevo León stood out with a new historical record with 29,338 people, a figure that represented an annual increase of 2.2 percent or 638 more people compared to March of last year. That number represents 20.7 percent of the total, with which the state remains the largest employer in the country in said industry.
In addition to Nuevo León, three other states recorded new local employment records in March. Michoacán with 5,745 workers, 4.9 percent more; Sonora with 3,679 workers, 4.5 percent more and Hidalgo with 2,660 workers, 7.1 percent more.
Of the 32 states, employment increased in 17, representing 57.7 percent of the total. In the remaining 15 where employment decreased, they represent 42.3 percent of the total.
In March, 2,139 jobs were created and 2,615 jobs were lost. In this generation, Nuevo León stood out with 638, Jalisco with 412 and Michoacán with 268. In contrast, Tamaulipas stood out with 353 less, Baja California with 535 and Coahuila, the birthplace of Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) with the loss of 908 jobs compared to March of last year.
The information corresponds to the records of the social security institute (IMSS) of the Basic Metals Industry. made up of five industries: 1) Basic iron and steel industry, 2) Manufacturing of iron and steel products, 3) Basic aluminum industry, 4) Non-ferrous metal industries (copper and precious metals) and 5) Molding casting of metal parts.