Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrádor (aka AMLO) has announced another rise in the Mexican minimum wage: 20 percent, as of January 1, 2024.
At that point, the daily minimum wage will increase from 207.44 pesos ($11.91) to 248 pesos ($14.27).
The raise will be even more substantial in the Northern Border Free Zone (ZFLN), where the minimum daily wage will rise to 375 pesos ($21.58).
The increase marks another step in AMLO’s long-term policy of improving Mexican standard of living. When he took office in 2018, the minimum daily wage was only 88 pesos per day ($5.06, according to 2023 exchange rates).
The increase came about through a rare consensus between unions, employers, and the Mexican government. The unions had originally proposed a 25 percent increase, while the Mexican Employers’ Confederation (Copamex) had proposed an increase of 12.8 percent.
The wage hike represented a balanced approach amid inflation trends. The annual Mexican inflation rate was 7.9 percent in January but had dropped to 4.2 percent by October.
Mexican wages remain much lower than in the United States, where the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. Fifteen states set their minimum wage at federal levels, whereas five states—Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee—have no minimum wage requirements.
Other states have higher minimum wages. Florida’s is $11 per hour. The highest minimum wage is California’s, which was $15.50 per hour in 2023 and will rise to $16 in 2024.
