Mexico City, Mar 23 (IANS/EFE): Mexico's unemployment rate fell to 4.85 percent in February, down from 5.33 percent in the same month of last year, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, or Inegi, said.

The seasonally adjusted jobless rate came in at 4.76 percent last month, 0.45 percentage points lower than in February 2012, Inegi said.

The underemployment rate (the proportion of employed persons who would like to work longer hours), was 8.2 percent in February, compared to 12 months earlier.

A total of 10.88 percent of the workforce was either unemployed or worked less than 15 hours a week, compared to 11.55 percent in February 2012, Inegi said.

The institute regards as employed any person over the age of 14 who worked at least six hours a week.

It also said the proportion of the population employed in the informal sector fell to 59.55 percent of the workforce, down from 60.13 percent in February of last year.