This article by Clara Zepeda originally appeared in the November 25, 2025 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.
Mexico City. The value of unpaid work in domestic and caregiving tasks in Mexico is equivalent to approximately 23.9 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the total Mexican economy, revealed the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).
Furthermore, the value generated by unpaid household work, as a percentage of the GDP of the total economy, exceeded some economic activities, such as manufacturing (20.1 percent) and trade (18.7 percent), the main activities of the national economy.
In releasing the Satellite Account of Unpaid Household Work in Mexico, INEGI estimated that the economic value of domestic and care work performed by the population aged 12 and over was approximately 8 trillion pesos, a figure similar to the assets managed by the AFOREs (workers’ retirement savings) of 8.18 trillion pesos at the end of October of this year. It is also very close to the 7.5 trillion pesos reached by the Retirement Savings System (SAR) in 2024.
The independent agency specified that the 8 trillion pesos of unpaid work represented almost 24 percent of the national GDP in 2024, the highest percentage since 2020 (25.1 percent). Of that amount, women contributed 72.6 percent and men 27.4 percent. Overall, the domestic and care work performed by women contributed 2.7 times more economic value than that performed by men.
Unpaid labour represents a massive subsidy to capital, foreign and domestic.
In 2024, the population performing unpaid work was predominantly female, comprising 53.9 percent of the total. Men accounted for 46.1 percent. However, when this work is measured in terms of hours and economic value, women contributed almost three-quarters of the total unpaid work.
By type of activity, cleaning and maintenance of the home accounted for 26.8 percent of the total economic value; care and support activities contributed 23.6 percent; food preparation, 23 percent; shopping and household management, 10.4 percent; helping other households and volunteer work, 8.7 percent; and cleaning and caring for clothes and shoes, 7.5 percent.
The net economic value (excluding social security benefits) was 60,379 pesos per person annually, on average. Of this amount, each woman performed unpaid work equivalent to 82,339 pesos annually. For their part, each man performed similar activities for an average amount of 34,695 pesos.
Mexico City, the State of Mexico, Jalisco, Veracruz, and Nuevo León registered the highest economic value of domestic and care work. The economic value of unpaid domestic and care work was just over 8 trillion pesos. Of that total, the states that contributed the most were the State of Mexico, with 11.6 percent; Mexico City, with 6.7 percent; Jalisco, with 6.6 percent; Veracruz, with 6.3 percent; and Nuevo León, with 5.6 percent.
The INEGI highlighted that when reviewing the value of unpaid work in each federal entity with respect to the GDP they generated, the states with the highest levels were Chiapas (58.4 percent); Guerrero (50.3 percent); Tlaxcala (46.9 percent); Oaxaca (42.9 percent) and Hidalgo (38.9 percent).
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