Morocco's Unemployment Rate Climbs to 13.1% in Q2 2024: HCP Report

Morocco's unemployment rate has escalated to 13.1% in the second quarter of 2024, according to the latest report from the Moroccan High Commission for Planning (HCP). This figure represents a 0.7 percentage point increase from the 12.4% recorded in the same period of 2023, highlighting a concerning trend in the country's labor market.

The number of unemployed individuals has surged by 90,000 from the second quarter of 2023 to the same period in 2024, reaching a total of 1,633,000. This constitutes a 6% rise, with urban areas seeing an increase of 48,000 unemployed individuals and rural areas an additional 42,000.

The HCP report indicates that both urban and rural areas have experienced an uptick in unemployment rates. In urban areas, the rate increased from 16.3% to 16.7%, a 0.4 percentage point rise. In rural areas, the unemployment rate climbed from 5.7% to 6.7%, marking a 1 percentage point increase.

Gender disparities in unemployment have also widened. The unemployment rate for women has risen from 17% to 17.7%, while for men, it has grown from 11% to 11.7%.

Youth unemployment has seen a particularly alarming rise, with the rate for individuals aged 15 to 24 climbing from 33.6% to 36.1%, a 2.5 percentage point increase. For those aged 25 to 34, unemployment rose by 1.6 percentage points, from 19.8% to 21.4%. The 35 to 44 age group saw a 0.1 percentage point increase to 7.3%, and for those aged 45 and above, it went up by 0.1 percentage point to 3.7%.

Graduates are also facing a higher unemployment rate, which increased by 0.2 percentage points, from 19.2% to 19.4%. The rise is particularly sharp among holders of secondary professional diplomas, with the unemployment rate in this group jumping by 3.2 percentage points to 26.1%.

Last month, Younes Sekkouri, the Minister of Economic Inclusion, reported a notable 90% job placement rate for graduates of professional training programs during a questioning session at the House of Representatives. However, some parliament members expressed doubts about the accuracy of Sekkouri’s data, questioning whether it reflected the reality of the Moroccan labor market, particularly the increasing unemployment rate and related issues prevailing across Morocco.

In terms of underemployment, the number of underemployed individuals nationwide rose from 983,000 to 1,042,000 between Q2 2023 and Q2 2024. The figure increased from 549,000 to 552,000 in urban areas, while it rose from 434,000 to 490,000 in rural areas.

The national underemployment rate climbed from 9% to 9.6%, with a slight decrease in urban areas from 8.4% to 8.3%. However, it underwent a notable increase—from 9.9% to 11.6%—in rural areas.

Regarding the underemployed in terms of hours worked, the number grew from 465,000 to 583,000 nationally, with the corresponding rate rising from 4.2% to 5.4%. Meanwhile, underemployment due to income insufficiency or a mismatch between education and job held decreased from 518,000 to 459,000 individuals, with the rate dropping from 4.7% to 4.2%.

By sector, underemployment increased by 1.7 percentage points in the construction sector, from 17.2% to 18.9%, and by 1.9 percentage points in agriculture, forestry, and fishing, going from 9.6% to 11.5%. However, it dropped from 5.3% to 5% in the industrial sector, including crafts, and remained stable at 7.7% in the services sector.

The 2024 HCP report also revealed that Morocco saw a net decrease of 80,000 jobs between the first quarters of 2023 and 2024. This decline included a loss of 159,000 positions in rural areas—many of which were unpaid—offset by the creation of 78,000 jobs in urban regions.

These findings underscore the need for comprehensive strategies to address the rising unemployment and underemployment rates, particularly among youth and graduates, to ensure a more stable and prosperous labor market in Morocco.