Moroccan government blames unemployment on drought

Morocco’s prime minister Aziz Akhannouch defended his government’s job creation policy despite a surge in unemployment which he blamed on drought.

Speaking to members of the Upper House, Akhannouch said the jobs lost in the agriculture sector were already unstable fragile jobs.

The unemployment rate surged to 13.3% in 2024 from 13% a year earlier, with the farming sector losing most jobs.

Akhannouch was speaking a day prior to a general strike backed by four main labour unions denouncing what they described as the government’s move to restrict strikes, in addition to inflation and tax hikes amid a degradation of conditions of the working class.

Akhannouch said more stable jobs have been created in the sectors of services and that workers earning less than 6000 dirhams monthly have been exempted from income tax.

Macro-economic indicators have also been improving with the fiscal deficit expected to further shrink to 3.5% this year and 3% in 2026, he said.

Regarding inflation, Akhannouch said the rate fell to 1% last year from 6% a year earlier, thanks to subsidies on the upstream to lower prices.

Akhannouch also cited the performance of the tourism sector, which reported record arrivals at 17.4 million tourists and record revenue of 11.2 billion dollars last year.