Morocco’s unemployment rate eases to 11.2%

Morocco’s unemployment rate dropped to 11.2% in the first half this year, compared with 12.8% a year earlier, the high commission for planning said.

From June 2021 to June 2022, the Moroccan economy created 133,000 jobs as the country shakes off dust left by the pandemic which hit most productive sectors.

The new jobs were mainly created in urban areas as drought caused the loss of 152,000 jobs in rural areas, the HCP said.

Most jobs were created in the services sector, followed by the industry and construction, it said, noting that 70% of the unemployed are concentrated in 5 regions.

Over 70% of unemployed Moroccans are concentrated in the five regions of Casablanca, Rabat, Fez, Oujda and Tangier.

The Moroccan government expects the economic growth to slow to 1.5% this year, from 7.8% last year, as the geopolitical tensions, imported inflation and drought hit the economy.