In May 2025, Nicaragua and Mexico recorded, according to official figures, one of the lowest unemployment rates on the continent, at 2.7%.

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Nicaragua’s National Development Information Institute (INIDE) shows that the net employment rate in Nicaragua reached 97.3 per cent, an increase of 0.3 percentage points over the previous year. This result consolidates the trend observed in 2024, when unemployment closed at 3.1%, according to the Central Bank of Nicaragua.

Ovidio Reyes, President of the Central Bank of Nicaragua said these indicators to the “stability of the labor market,” supported by formal job growth and salary improvements.

In 2024, the number of members of the Nicaraguan Social Security Institute (INSS) increased by 10,459 people (1.3%), reaching a total of 802,372 formal workers. The service and industrial sectors were the main drivers.

Another favorable economic indicator for the country Nica, says that The Central Bank of Nicaragua reported that the country’s GDP grew by 3% in the first quarter of 2025, a figure lower than the previous year’s 3.5%, resulting in an accumulated annual growth of 2.9% in March 2025.

This growth was driven by activities such as commerce, hotels and restaurants, agriculture, livestock, financial intermediation and transport. The Central Bank estimates economic growth in 2025 to be between 3% and 4%, with annual inflation ranging from 2% to 4%.

For its part, the Mexican National Survey of Occupation and Employment (ENOE) reported an unemployment rate identical to that of Nicaragua (2.7%). However, the country faces structural challenges: 54.9% of workers are in the informal sector, and 7.1% are underemployed.

Despite this, Mexico maintains a comparative advantage in the region, where countries such as Colombia (9.0% unemployment in May 2025) or Chile (8.8% in February-April 2025) are the worst performers in this respect.

On the other hand, the Colombian government plans to reverse with the recent labor reform approved by Congress and sanctioned on June 26 by President Gustavo Petro after a long dispute against conservative sectors.

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