A ‘very good tip’ or just half the story?
President Claudia Sheinbaum came out to sell triumph. In February, it says, 157,882 new jobs affiliated with the IMSS were created. “It is a very good figure for the economy,” he declared with satisfaction in his morning conference.
His priority, he assures, is not only gross economic growth. It is getting more and better-paid jobs. Sounds good. It always sounds good when they say it from the podium.
“What matters most to us, because it is not only economic growth, but more better-paid jobs”
But here comes the usual journalistic exercise: putting the data in context. Zoé Robledo, head of the IMSS, provided the other piece of the puzzle.
So far this year, 217,299 new positions have been created. The annual growth rate is 1.0%. By the end of February, the total number of workers registered with the institute was 22.5 million.
An increase is an increase. Nobody disputes it. The question that remains floating in the air of the press conference is another: is it enough? At what rate do we need to create jobs for a population like ours? Where are those ‘better salaries’ in the specific data?
Celebrating an isolated number is easy. The real work is to analyze the trend, compare it with the needs and not lose your memory. Remember what was promised and what it is measured against.
The news is a number. The full story is usually in the next slide that they don’t show.
