Morocco’s labor market showed renewed vigor in 2025, buoyed by stronger economic growth, according to Bank Al-Maghrib’s annual report presented to King Mohammed VI. Job creation more than doubled from the previous year and unemployment edged down slightly, but the central bank cautioned that the improvement remains insufficient to meaningfully rebalance the labor market, with joblessness still elevated and rising among women and young people.
The economy created 193,000 jobs in 2025, compared with 82,000 the previous year and a net loss of 157,000 positions in 2023. Services remained the largest source of job creation with 123,000 new positions, while construction added 64,000 jobs, up sharply from 13,000 a year earlier. Industry held steady with 46,000 new jobs, and agricultural job losses slowed markedly, falling from 137,000 to 41,000.
Despite these gains, Bank Al-Maghrib said job creation was not enough to meaningfully reduce unemployment, partly because the active population grew 1.4 percent to reach 12.5 million people, with a net 177,000 new job seekers entering the market. The unemployment rate consequently fell only marginally, from 13.3 to 13 percent.
The aggregate figure masks sharp disparities. Male unemployment fell 0.8 points to 10.8 percent, while female unemployment rose 1.1 points to 20.5 percent. Unemployment among 15-to-24-year-olds was the only age group to worsen, climbing to 37.2 percent. The unemployed population remains dominated by people under 35, and graduates account for 84.9 percent of the jobless, compared with 53.6 percent among the employed; more than half are seeking their first job, and nearly 65 percent have been unemployed for over a year.
Underemployment also continued to climb, rising from 10.1 to 10.9 percent, and reaching 21.7 percent in construction. Salaried employment grew to 61 percent of the active working population, though casual and seasonal work continued to rise, and 68.4 percent of workers reported lacking medical coverage through their jobs.
