Ladies Covid and Drought, passing through our lands, in Morocco, the job market suffered greatly in 2020. The unemployment rate jumped to 11.9% in 2020, against 9.2% in 2019, reported the High Commission for Planning (HCP) last February. Agriculture, fishing, tourism, textiles, automobiles, etc. have suffered and in the case it is young people (unemployment rate of 31.2%, an increase of 6.2 points) who were particularly the most affected.
The number of unemployed increased by 29% between 2019 and 2020 to reach 1,429,000, an increase “exclusively attributable” to job cuts, especially in the agricultural and fishing sector, our two Ladies Covid-19 having weighed all their weight. At the same time, the activity rate fell by one point to 44.8% in 2020, according to the same source. Other data published as part of a study prepared by the Department of Financial and Prospective Studies of the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Administrative Reform entitled: ” Territories facing Covid-19: impact on the economy of the regions »Reveals as for it, that it is the region of the Oriental which recorded the highest rate of unemployment at the national level, approximately 20.7%, against 11.9% on national average as said above.
Also exaggerating the latter, the southern regions come in second second with 19.8%, ahead of the Casablanca-Settat region with 13.4%. Below this average, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in 2020 in the regions of Marrakech-Safi with 6.9%, and Beni Mellal-Khenifra with 7.4%. Otherwise, the study tells us, all regions, without exception, experienced an increase in the unemployment rate, the strongest of which was recorded in the Oriental, with 6.9 points between 2019 and 2020. .
The study indicates that all regions of Morocco have not been immune to the effects of the emerging Corona virus crisis, due to travel restriction measures, temporary work suspension, quarantine measures, in addition to the repercussions of the dry season. These factors have had a profound impact on the labor market, especially in the informal sector, which is characterized by the absence of safety nets. Another relevant finding, the increase in the number of positive cases in certain regions was accompanied by a tightening of precautionary measures, which resulted in a significant increase in the unemployment rate and a fall in the employment rate, like the regions of Oriental and Casablanca-Settat.
In terms of impact on regional value added, study data indicates that the largest loss was recorded in the eastern region, which lost 9.8% of its value added in a number of major sectors. . The data on this indicated that the sectors in the Oriental have lost: agriculture, forestry (forest trees) and fishing 2.2 points, or about 1.18 billion dirhams, transport 1.08 billion dirhams, trade 644 million dirhams, hotels and restaurants 497 million dirhams, real estate, rents and services provided to businesses, 491 million dirhams, in addition to the mechanical, metal and electrical industries, 350 million dirhams. Hence collateral damage to the construction and transport sectors and obviously to agriculture, affected by two dry agricultural seasons. Informal labor, which accounts for about 42.9% of the total non-farm labor force, has also taken a heavy toll.
In second position in terms of loss of added value, the Marrakech-Safi region. It recorded a drop of 9.6% last year, the importance of its hotel and restaurant sector not having been able to adequately cope with the crisis. Third region the region of Souss-Massa, with an economy in decline of about 8%, followed by the region of Beni Mellal-Khenifra with 6.8%. On the other hand, the effect was moderate in Laâyoune – Sakia El Hamra with a loss of 6%, followed by Guelmim-Oued Noun with 5.8%. Fès-Meknes, where informal employment represents about 34.8%, recorded a drop in its added value of 5.2%, representing 4.9 billion dirhams, due to the damage caused to the agricultural sectors, trade, hotels, restaurants and transport.
In the economic capital of the Kingdom, added value fell by 5.1%, mainly due to damage caused to the mechanical, metal, electrical and textile industries where the informal sector represents around 28.1%. As for the list of regions that are resilient in terms of their added value, it includes the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, which recorded the smallest drop 1.6%, representing 1.7 billion dirhams, then the region of Rabat. . -Salé-Kénitra, with a decrease of 2.5% and to a lesser degree the Draa-Tafilalet region 4.3%.
In conclusion, the study suggested developing a system of governance in the health and education sectors by providing better services and creating decent employment opportunities according to the needs of the authorities, while ensuring the skill level. It was recommended to strengthen the budgetary capacity of local authorities to maintain and enhance public services, simplify administrative procedures and invest in digital technology as a lever to strengthen the articulation of communities and increase their contribution to the development and diversification of the national economy. There was also a call for establishing a sustainable culture based on the promotion of green activities that generate constant jobs and income. Encouraging and supporting investments in the field of renewable energies, accompanying and sponsoring companies that implement green projects, in order to relieve the ambient gloom caused by Dames Covid and Drought, these are again the recommendations of the study.
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