Over 900,000 jobs shed in Mexico in the first half due to COVID-19

Mexico's economy shed 921,583 jobs in the first half of 2020, dragged by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) said on Sunday.

In June alone, Mexico lost 83,311 formal jobs under the impact of the pandemic, the IMSS said in a report.

In the six-month period, Mexico, Latin America's second-largest economy after Brazil, saw nearly 19.5 million jobs registered with the IMSS.

Of those jobs, 86.6 percent were permanent jobs and the other 13.4 percent temporary ones.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has estimated the country will lose one million jobs in 2020 due to the pandemic, while his administration is implementing a plan to generate up to two million new jobs.

Mexico on Sunday became the country with the fourth highest death toll from COVID-19, ahead of Italy, according to Mexican health officials.

"There are 299,750 confirmed cases of infection and 35,006 deaths in Mexico," health officials said on Twitter account.

(Cover: People wait to enter a restaurant amid the COVID-19 outbreak in Mexico City, Mexico, July 11, 2020. /Xinhua)

(With input from Xinhua)