A new paper has discovered that Mexico accounts for over 225,000 jobs in the global app economy, and the country’s connection to the industry offers the potential to create many, many more in the future.

The paper, entitled The Rise of the Mexican App Economy, was written by Michelle Di Ionno and Michael Mandel, from Progressive Policy Institute, a think tank based out of Washington, D.C. with a history of creating ideas that have been translated into public policy and law. The company’s mission, according to its website, is to “create radically pragmatic ideas for moving America beyond ideological and partisan deadlock”.

“All around the world we are seeing the rise of the App Economy—jobs, companies, and economic growth created by the production and distribution of mobile applications (“apps”) that run on smartphones,” say the authors. “Since the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, the App Economy has grown from nothing to a powerful economic force that rivals existing industries.”

How app economy jobs are divided in Mexico

This insightful report examines the production and distribution of mobile apps as a source of growth and job creation for Mexico. According to the paper, the Mexican app economy is made of of a diverse range of players:

  1. Large, medium, and small Mexican app developers, who may be creating apps for themselves or for clients
  2. Global app companies who are hiring local Mexican developers
  3. Media, software, finance and retail companies that engage in app development for consumer use under their own name
  4. Other large non-tech companies that are developing apps for internal and customer use
  5. Government organizations that develop apps to provide services for their citizens

In terms of country coverage, of the 226,300 jobs discovered, 52.3% are in Mexico City, 8.9% are in Monterrey, 7.7% are in Guadalajara, and the remaining 31.1% are listed as “other”.

The report estimates that just under 78% of app economy workers in Mexico (roughly 176,000 jobs) belong to the Android ecosystem, while Apple’s iOS accounts for 66%, Blackberry 3.5%, and Windows 3%. The numbers sum to more than 100% because many jobs specify more than one operating system—requiring, for example, both iOS and Android skills.

Mexico’s app economy future

Mexico’s strong global trading relationships and the country’s support of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement are leading to the next step in seizing new opportunities in this economy: creating new export markets. Trade is no longer just about traditional goods and services—it’s about digital goods, such as mobile apps.

“The App Economy has the potential to accelerate Mexico’s economic development, but excess government regulations can unnecessarily choke off App Economy growth in Mexico,” the report states. “The country continuing to support the types of policies that facilitate App Economy growth will allow Mexico to participate in the global mobile revolution as a producer rather than a consumer. Putting too many costly restrictions on Mexico’s App Economy will only divert the growth elsewhere. By building upon its current strengths and directly addressing the need for improvement in its regulatory and innovation environment, a country such as Mexico can become a leader in the global App Economy, creating good jobs and value-added growth at home.”