Coronavirus sheds 500,000 jobs in Morocco

There were 500,000 more unemployed people in Morocco by June 2020, compared to the same period last year, said the high commission for planning in its updated job market figures since the virus outbreak.

The coronavirus and drought have caused a loss of 185,000 jobs in the rural world and 311,000 in urban areas, the agency said.

This means the number of the unemployed doubled from 981,000 in June 2019 to 1.44 million in June 2020.

The total unemployment rate grew from 8.1% in June last year to 12.3% in the first half of this year. The agency said in previous estimates that the unemployment rate would spike to over 14% under the impact of the global pandemic.

The coronavirus hit Morocco’s most productive sectors including tourism, retail and exports to Europe.