Mexican unemployment

Like me, you may be surprised to learn that Mexico's unemployment rate is a mere 3.6 percent. According to an article in today's Wall Street Journal there are two main factors behind this. The first is that many Mexicans find their work in the U.S. The second, however, is Mexico's lack of unemployment insurance.

Unemployment insurance in industrialized countries allows people to remain out of work for longer periods, and to be more selective of the kind of work they take, [the Mexican government's numbers agency] Inegi said.

In Mexico, people who can't afford to remain unemployed are quick to take on any kind of work, and that is particularly true of those "without cultural or social inhibitions" who can make about as much through self-employment as they can in the formal sector.

I'm not sure we ought to abolish unemployment insurance, but that is certainly food for thought. I personally know people, and I doubt I'm alone, who only get serious in their job search once their unemployment insurance is about to run out.