Unemployment rates in Morocco reached 12.4 percent in the second quarter of this year, increasing from the 11.2 percent registered the same period last year.
86,000 jobs were lost between the second quarter of 2022 and the same quarter of 2023, according to figures released today by the High Commission for Planning. 206,000 jobs were lost in rural areas, and of 121,000 jobs created in urban areas.
Services was the best performing job creating sector, with 103,000 positions between June 2022 and June 2023, “industry, including traditional industry” sector, with about 46,000 positions, and “construction and public works” sector with 30,000 positions.
On the other hand, agriculture, forestry and the hunting sector lost 266,000 jobs.
Before covid-19, unemployment rates in Morocco ranged around 9.4 percent, but witnessed successive increases in recent years, to exceed the ten percent threshold.
Unemployment, expressed as the number of the unemployed, increased in the past twelve months by about 156,000 people, as a result of an increase of 92,000 unemployed in urban areas and 64,000 in rural areas, bringing the number of unemployed to 1,543,000 people at the national level.
The unemployment rate is still high among young people between the ages of 15 and 24, at 33.6 percent, with diploma holders representing about 19.2 percent, and women at about 17 percent.
The highest unemployment rates were recorded in the southern regions (23.8%) and the eastern regions (20.3%). To a lesser extent, two regions exceed the national average (12.4 percent): Casablanca-Settat region (14,3%) and Fez-Meknes (13,2%).
Several regions in Morocco record unemployment rates lower than the national average, namely the regions of Marrakesh-Safi, Tangiers-Tetouan-Al Hoceima and Draa-Tafilalet, with rates of 6.7%, 8.5% and 10.1%, respectively.