Morocco’s government aims to place about one million young people in work by the end of its term, backed by roughly 6 billion dirhams, Employment and Social Dialogue Minister Abderrahim Chahid told the House of Representatives on Monday 9 November. The stated objective is to cut unemployment to 7% by 2031.
The flagship measure is a “first work contract” program intended to benefit 500,000 young people over five years. It targets a contradiction the minister stressed: graduates and first-time jobseekers are asked for experience they cannot acquire without first being hired. The government also plans stronger support for young people who are neither employed, in education nor in training, about 300,000 a year, aiming to halve their number by 2031.
Entrepreneurship is another pillar. A youth program is meant to assist around 60,000 businesses with incubation, financing, guarantees and market access for up to two years. The ministry also expects to contribute to some 125,000 jobs abroad under agreements with countries that need workers.
The plans arrive against a mixed backdrop. Chahid said unemployment stood at 10.5% in the third quarter of 2026, against 10.3% a year earlier. Paid employment rose by a net 158,000 jobs over twelve months but fell between the two quarters, partly because of agricultural factors. Joblessness among 15-24-year-olds reached 30.5%, and women’s participation remains below 18%.
Chahid said the national employment agency, ANAPEC, must become a central actor in delivery, modernizing its services, widening its territorial presence and deepening ties with employers. He also floated a third national employment conference, after those held in Marrakech in 1998 and Casablanca in 2005, starting with the revival of the Higher Council for the Promotion of Employment and regional and provincial councils, long inactive.
