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Morocco's job market recovery: 282,000 jobs created in early 2025
Morocco’s unemployment rate has experienced a notable decrease of 0.4% in the first quarter of 2025, dropping from 13.7% to 13.3% compared to the same period last year, as reported by the Higher Commission for Planning (HCP). This improvement is attributed to the creation of 282,000 jobs, marking a significant rebound after the loss of 80,000 positions in the previous year.
Urban areas demonstrated a more substantial recovery, with unemployment falling by one percentage point to 16.6%, accompanied by the addition of 285,000 new jobs. Conversely, rural regions faced a slight setback, losing 3,000 jobs, which contributed to a marginal increase of 0.5 points in unemployment, now standing at 7.3%.
The total number of unemployed individuals in Morocco decreased by 1% to 1,630,000, reflecting a reduction of 40,000 in urban areas. However, this was partially counterbalanced by a rise of 25,000 in rural unemployment.
In gender-specific terms, men's unemployment decreased by 0.5% to 11.5%, while women saw a smaller reduction of 0.2%, bringing their rate to 19.9%. Youth unemployment, however, painted a more complex picture, as the rate for individuals aged 15-24 rose by 1.8% to reach 37.7%. In contrast, other age groups benefited from declines in unemployment: those aged 25-34 saw a reduction of 0.8% to 21.2%, while unemployment among individuals aged 35-44 and 45 and older dropped to 7.5% and 3.9%, respectively.
Graduates also experienced a decrease in unemployment, falling by 0.9% to 19.4%. This trend was particularly evident among holders of technical certificates and middle management diplomas, whose unemployment rate dropped by 3.9% to 24%, alongside vocational qualification graduates, who saw a decline of 3.6% to 21.9%.
Despite the overall decline in unemployment rates, underemployment has risen. The number of individuals in underemployment situations increased from 1,069,000 to 1,254,000 nationwide, with the national underemployment rate climbing by 1.5% to 11.8%. Rural areas experienced a more pronounced rise of 2.3%, reaching 14.8%, compared to a 1% increase in urban regions, now at 10%.
The construction sector, which already faced the highest underemployment rates, saw the largest increase, rising by 3.6% to 22.6%. This was followed by agriculture, forestry, and fishing, which rose by 2.3 points to 14.4%. The manufacturing and services sectors also reported increases in underemployment rates.
These statistics illustrate Morocco’s ongoing economic recovery and resilience in the job market, even as challenges persist in the agricultural sector and among youth employment.
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