FILE PHOTO: Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador attends a news conference at the National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico February 18, 2020. REUTERS/Henry Romero/File Photo
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico added back 52,455 jobs in August, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Saturday, hailing the news as a sign of recovery after the country lost more than 1 million jobs in the formal economy due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“This is a good indicator. … We’re going to move ahead in spite of everything because we’re working in a professional manner,” he said in a video on Twitter, citing data from the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) on employees registered with the institute.
IMSS said last week that 3,907 jobs were lost in July due to the pandemic, adding to 1.1 million jobs lost between March and June.
Mexico ranks third worldwide for most coronavirus fatalities, with a death toll of 55,908, and its economy is expected to shrink this year as much as 10% or more.
Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Will Dunham