Slim says Mexico must protect jobs as economy slips

MEXICO CITY, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Mexico must focus on reducing unemployment and raising wages as the country slides toward a recession, telecoms magnate and Mexico's richest man, Carlos Slim, said on Monday.

"Gross domestic product is going to be negative, it will be a substantial drop because of falling oil prices and exports ... but we have to guard against unemployment," Slim said at a forum at Mexico's Congress about the global financial crisis.

"We have to be worried about salary levels," he said.

Mexico's economy is expected to shrink more than 1 percent this year because of a slump in U.S. demand for Mexican manufactured exports like cars and refrigerators.

Slim is the world's second-richest man, with a fortune worth $60 billion, according to Forbes magazine.

He controls telecoms giants Telmex and America Movil, as well as retail stores, a restaurant chain and an industrial conglomerate. (Reporting by Miguel Angel Gutierrez and Tomas Sarmiento; Editing by Dan Grebler)