Labor market: unemployment rate rises to 13.1%

The unemployment rate reached 13.1% in the second quarter of 2024, according to the recent information note from the High Commission for Planning (HCP) on the situation of the labor market. This increase of 0.7 points compared to the second quarter of 2023 is observed both in urban areas (from 16.3% to 16.7%) and in rural areas (from 5.7% to 6.7%).

The number of unemployed increased by 90,000 people, from 1,543,000 to 1,633,000, an increase of 6%. This increase concerns 48,000 additional unemployed people in urban areas and 42,000 in rural areas.

The increase in unemployment is particularly marked among young people aged 15 to 24, with an increase of 2.5 points, from 33.6% to 36.1%. For those aged 25 to 34, the unemployment rate increased by 1.6 points, from 19.8% to 21.4%. A slight increase is also observed among those aged 35 to 44 (+0.1 point) and those aged 45 and over (+0.1 point).

Graduates are not spared, with an unemployment rate up 0.2 points, from 19.2% to 19.4%. The increase is particularly notable among holders of qualifying secondary education diplomas, reaching a rate of 26.1% (+3.2 points).

The overall volume of employment in Morocco decreased by 82,000 jobs between the second quarter of 2023 and that of 2024. This decrease is mainly due to the loss of 141,000 jobs in rural areas, compared to a creation of 60,000 jobs in urban areas. The HCP emphasizes that this situation is influenced by the effects of the drought.

Paid employment increased by 45,000, resulting from the creation of 63,000 jobs in urban areas and the loss of 18,000 in rural areas. In contrast, unpaid employment suffered a loss of 126,000 jobs, mainly in rural areas.

The activity rate decreased by 0.6 points, from 44.8% to 44.2%, as a result of a slight increase in the active population and an increase in the working-age population. This decline is more marked in rural areas (from 49.2% to 48%) than in urban areas (from 42.6% to 42.3%).

The employment rate also fell by 0.9 points, from 39.3% to 38.4%, with a greater decline in rural areas (from 46.4% to 44.8%) than in urban areas (from 35.7% to 35.3%). Among men, the employment rate fell by 1.2 points (from 62.2% to 61.0%) and among women by 0.5 points (from 17% to 16.5%).

LNT