Mexico Is The Hardest Working Country, But One Of The Worst Paid: OECD

Despite the fact that many people continue to believe in the stereotype of the lazy Mexican in recent years, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) placed Mexico in the list of hardest working countries.

An annual OECD report regarding the 34 member countries of the OECD says that Mexicans work 519 hours more than the average American.

The difference seems abysmal, and even more so knowing that the international organization has considered that Mexicans work harder than the citizens of countries known for their "devotion" to work, like South Korea or Japan, reports newspaper La Opinión.

Despite being one of the hardest working countries, Mexico still faces serious social inequalities which means an average worker's income is extremely low.

According to the OECD via La Opinión, the income of an average Mexican worker ($9,985 USD) is five times lower than that of an American worker ($54,450 USD).

Great Challenges for Mexican Workers

According to Mexican newspaper El Universal, the OECD released a report titled "How goes life?" which states that Mexicans work an average of 2,250 hours a year, compared to the 1,776 hours the citizens of other countries.

The reasons for the efforts of Mexicans not being reflected in their economy are, among other things, low salaries, productivity and gender inequality, burdens holding back a nation with huge social inequalities.

Not everything is an effort for Mexican workers though. According to La Opinión, Mexican workers waste 40% of their time on distractions that undermine their productivity, and so their performance is lower compared to other workers.

Besides these statistics, the "2013 Education Panorama" report from the OECD shows discouraging statistics.

According to this report, the unemployment rate up to September was at 5.3 percent of the population (5.1 and 5.5 percent for men and women respectively). These levels are higher than the rate for 2012, where the rate was at 5.0 percent total (4.7 for men and 5.4 for women), make it clear that that young people in Mexico face a great challenge as they try to find a job.