Jalisco - Economy

Economy

The economy of the state accounts for 6.3% of Mexico’s GDP. It is ranked third in socioeconomic indicators behind Nuevo León and the Federal District of Mexico City . The main sectors of the economy are commerce, restaurants and hotels at 26.1%, services at 21.5%, manufacturing (food processing, bottling and tobacco) at 19.4%, transport, storage and communications at 11.8%, financial services and real estate at 11.2%, agriculture, forestry and fishing at 5.5%, and construction at 4.4%. Jalisco earns just under six percent of Mexico foreign earnings from tourism and employment from the various multinational corporations located in the state, exporting more than $5 billion annually to 81 countries and ranks first among the states in agribusiness, computers and the manufacturing of jewelry. Just over 57% of the population of the state is economically active, the sixth highest percentage in Mexico. 96.6% of this population has employment, of which 15.88% are employed in agriculture, livestock, forestry and fishing, 28.96% are in mining, utilities and construction and 54.82% are in commerce and services. Jalisco received $508.5 USD Million in Foreign direct investment in 2010, representing 6.5% of Mexico's total FDI. Manufacturing Industry was the most important for the State in 2010, followed by the food and hotel industry.

The economic center of the state is Guadalajara, with parts of the metro area having living standards comparable to that of the first world; however, on its periphery there is still significant poverty. Guadalajara’s economy is based on industry, especially electronics and cybernetics, much of which is located just outside the city center. These industries account for about 75% of the state’s production of goods. The major employers are industry in general, commerce and services. Guadajalara drives the state’s economic growth, making Jalisco third in construction in the country.

Agriculture mostly developed in the tropical and subtropical areas. Jalisco’s agriculture accounts for 8.44% of the country’s production according to GDP. It produces twenty percent of the country’s corn, twelve percent of its sugar, twenty five percent of its eggs, twenty percent of its pork, seventeen percent of its dairy products and over twelve percent of its honey, domestic fowl and cattle. It is the country’s number one producer of seed corn, corn for animal feed, agave for tequila, limes, fresh milk, eggs, pigs and cattle. It ranks second in the production of sugar, watermelons, honey and barley . 5,222,542 hectares are dedicated to forestry, with eighty percent covered in conifers and broad-leafed trees. A number of these forests contains commercially important hardwoods. On the coasts, there is commercial fishing for shrimp, crabs and tilapia.

Mining developed only in Bolaños, El Barqueño in Guachinango, Pihuamo, Talpa de Allede and Comaja de Corona in Lagos de Moreno and still have active mining. There are important deposits of granite, marble, sandstone and obsidian.

Industry mostly concentrated in the Guadalajara metro area, which has large industrial parks such as El Bosque I, El Bosque II, Guadalajara Industrial Tecnológico, Eco Park, Vallarta, Parque de Tecnología en Electrónica, King Wei and Villa Hidalgo. In food processing, it is first in the production of chocolate products, second in bottling, soft drink production, cement, lime and plaster, third in the production of chemical products.

The tequila industry is very important to the state as the drink has international place-of-origin designation. The tequila producing area of Jalisco is a tourist attraction, with more than seventeen million visitors each year with an estimated value of over ten million pesos per year. The tequila industry supports large scale cultivation of the blue agave, with about 200,000 people employed through it directly or indirectly. It is the only mezcal which is produced industrially with strict norms for its production and origin.

Another important sector of the economy is handcrafts, especially ceramics. Jalisco is the leader in Mexico by volume, quality and diversity of the produced exported which total more than 100 million dollars annually. Jalisco accounts for ten percent of all the handcrafts exported from Mexico. The most representative of the state are the ceramics of Tlaquepaque, Tonalá and Tuxpan, but other common items include the huarache sandals of Concepción de Buenos Aires, piteado from Colotlán, majolica pottery from Sayula, blown glass from Tlaquepaque and Tonalá, equipal chairs from Zacoalco de Torres, jorongo blankets from Talpa and the Los Altos Region and baskets from various parts of the state.

Guadalajara’s tourism is mostly concentrated in Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara. The state has the second largest number of hotels and tour agencies in Mexico and the third highest number of hotel rooms. The state ranks second in banking services and third in professional, technical and other specialized services.