The impact of climate variability on agricultural employment in Mexico from 1980–2017

shared by the ENE and the ENOE is the rotation of the sample in each survey. In other words, both surveys periodically replace a portion of the sample with new participants of similar char- acteristics to ensure reliable labor force, occupation, and employment estimates. Conse- quently, the total sampled population fluctuated between 1988 and 2005, ranging from 46,613 households in 1988 to 163,838 in 2000 [55]. This dataset was used solely to compute changes in total agrarian employment; we did not correlate these results with climate data, as the ENOE dataset was used for that purpose. In summary, we used three databases to calculate changes in overall agrarian occupation. However, to analyze the correlation between precipitation and changes in occupation, we employed only the Demographic Retrospective Survey database (EDER, 2017) [50] and the National Occupation and Employment Survey databases (ENOE, 2005 to 2017) [56]. This decision was based on the sample design: EDER allows for the reconstruction of the popula- tion’s long-term life history, despite having less data. In contrast, ENOE provides a more detailed perspective on short-term changes, facilitating the analysis of annual movements. While its sample size is significant, it does not support individual tracking beyond five quar- ters. In other words, the analysis of these databases complements one another, as they enable the visualization of occupational changes on an annual and quarterly basis (Fig 1). 2.2.2.1 Ethics statement. Considering that our research includes the participation of human

beings, we clarify that we did not obtain consent, either written or oral, as fieldwork was not conducted. The data used were sourced from publicly available information obtained from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI). In accordance with Article 26.B of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States (CPEUM), INEGI is an autonomous agency with legal personality and assets, empowered to regulate the collection, processing, and publication of information, ensuring compliance [57]. Aligned with the principles outlined in the CPEUM, particularly Article 6, Base A, Sections I and II, INEGI upholds maximum transparency in disseminating information [57]. However, personal data is safeguarded in accordance with the provisions and exceptions stipulated by law. Pursuant to Articles 33 and 35 of the General Law for the Protection of Personal Data in Possession of Obligated Parties (Data Protection Law), INEGI is committed to upholding Fig 1. Methodology. Depicts a national-scale system under investigation. Precipitation analysis was conducted using the CRU 4.06 database, while two different databases, EDER and ENOE, were employed to analyze occupational changes. The survey’s temporal and methodological aspects enable population monitoring on an annual and quarterly basis, allowing for two distinct scales of comparison. Specifically, for EDER 2017, we compared the annual data of total agrarian occupation, rainfed occupation, and livestock occupation with the average annual precipitation (left). In the

case of ENOE, we utilized quarterly average data for occupation and precipitation transitions (right). In both analyses, a simple Pearson correlation was employed to compare variables and determine statistical significance. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0313891.g001 PLOS ONE Agrarian abandonment and extreme events PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0313891 February 10, 2025 5 / 22