Salaries of Mexican migrants in the US are “punished” for having less education

When reviewing the percentage of Mexicans with higher education studies, men with a bachelor’s degree or a postgraduate degree falls to 9.5% and 2%, respectively. In the case of women, there are 12.9% with a bachelor’s degree and 2.2% with a master’s or doctorate.

“There are countries like Venezuela where 54% (of migrants) have university studies, Colombia 40%,” commented Carlos Serrano, chief economist of BBVA Mexico at the presentation of the yearbook.

Migrants from countries like Venezuela or Colombia have a higher level of education because people with lower incomes and less education cannot afford the trip. “It does not give them the economic capacity to reach Mexico and then the United States,” said Gabriela Rodríguez, general secretary of Conapo.

Salaries for migrants Latam

The Migration and Remittances Yearbook 2024 compares the average annual salaries of migrants from eight Latin American countries, where the lowest average income last year was for workers of Honduran origin and the highest for Haitians.

The average annual salary of Mexican workers in 2023 was $25,570, only above Guatemala and Honduras. Haitian workers are the ones who received the most income last year, with $34,323, $8,753 more than Mexican workers.

In Venezuela, Serrano highlighted, “there are other types of problems not only economic, there is a higher migration with high educational levels,” he added.

As the percentage of migrants with higher degrees of education increases, the sectors where they are employed also change. Venezuelans and Colombians are mostly in professional and administrative services; Haitians and Dominicans are employed more in education and health.

In the case of Mexicans, Guatemalans and Hondurans, their main productive activity is construction.

“I get the impression that it is a relatively easy trade to learn. It is something that is extremely physical. It is labor that, for comparison purposes, is better paid in the United States than in Mexico. It becomes a good first job for women. people who are arriving,” said Ramírez.

Although there is a relationship between the level of education and the average annual income of Latino migrants in the United States, it is not possible to know if Mexican migrants, having a higher salary, would send more money to Mexico.

Sending remittances not only depends on the US labor market, but also on the exchange rate, commented Gabriela Siller, director of economic-financial analysis at Banco Base.

“We have seen that when the exchange rate rises, the average remittance falls. There is a certain amount that migrants send to their families in Mexico, depending on the cost of living,” he noted.

Why don’t Mexicans with degrees immigrate?

In Mexico there is a significant difference in income between people with a bachelor’s degree and those who only completed primary school.

“Mexico is a country that offers very good opportunities to those who have university studies,” said Carlos Serrano.

“You emigrate when you have an unmet need, when your family does not have what they need to satisfy their basic needs such as paying for food or children not being able to go to school,” added Sofía Ramírez, general director of Mexico. How are we doing? ?

“Professional people who manage to perform with a formal job, with a certain work history, have no incentives to leave. “Emigrating is not an easy decision, one that is taken in complete freedom,” he added.

Education is a fundamental piece for social mobility, Ramírez and Serrano agreed. Hence the need to generate better study and employment conditions in Latin America.

What happens with Mexicans who go to study outside the country and do not return is that they generate networks and ties in the place where they went to study: they get a job, they get married. In the case of professionals, they leave Mexico when they receive an offer that is more profitable than staying in the country.