Mexico’s competitive wage rates

Mexico has been known for its notoriously low labor rates for years, which make the country extremely competitive against others.

But low labor rates do not automatically signify low production quality, as often believed.
On the contrary, in Mexico the quality of manufactured products has actually increased over the last years, while wages have stayed relatively low.

This quality level is due to multiple reasons, one of them being quality standard certifications which most Mexican manufacturing companies possess.

One of these certificates is “ISO 9001 (International Organization for Standardization)”, which ensures that companies maintain safety, quality and efficiency in their manufacturing. Companies with the ISO 9001 certification can be trusted to sustain high standards for their products.

Another reason for Mexico’s outstanding quality level of manufacturing are the highly skilled and well-trained professionals emerging from Mexico’s top tier universities.
As Mexico is predominantly established in the industrial sector, it brings forth a lot of highly qualified workers in this field. This is also due to its many universities of great reputation, with over 100,000 graduates each year.
On top of that, 48-hour work weeks are the common standard. This grants a much higher productivity compared to an average of a 35-hour work week worldwide.
Nevertheless, the wage rates in Mexico do not correlate to workers being exploited, as the average living costs in Mexico are relatively low and the high working hours are nowhere near as high as in Asian countries, which have low wages as well. Therefore, it’s an advantage for both parties, the employers and the employees.

Do you have further questions about current economic developments in Mexico? Do not hesitate to contact us!