Reynosa, Matamoros drive Tamaulipas workforce past 1.7 million

Reynosa and Matamoros continue to anchor Tamaulipas’ economy, each showing low unemployment and heavy reliance on manufacturing, according to the latest labor survey from Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography, or INEGI.

Reynosa has a labor force of 420,000 people, with a 3.6% unemployment rate and nearly one in four jobs in manufacturing.

Matamoros has 380,000 people in the labor force, with a 3.4% unemployment rate, 24% of jobs in manufacturing, and steady growth in transportation, logistics, and trade.

Both cities report informal employment rates of nearly 45%, meaning that nearly half of workers hold jobs, but without benefits such as health insurance or retirement plans, and operate outside the formal labor market.