Informal work is prevalent in Morocco–accounting for more than three-quarters of the country’s estimate employment numbers–with a rate of 77.3%, said a World Bank research published in late June.
The survey was done on three countries from the MENA region; specifically, Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt, and showed that approximately two-thirds of workers hold what can be defined as an informal job.
Morocco has the highest percentage of informal jobs compared to the two other countries that were probed with respect to the survey. Egypt recorded 62.5%, while Tunisia showed 43.9% of overall employment.
The study says that this phenomenon is a byproduct of a variety of causal factors, inclusive of limited social protection, productivity and growth constraints, fiscal limitations, and structural challenges.
The MENA region has two great institutional weaknesses that are defined–according to the World Bank Report—as inadequate social protection systems, and tax regime enforcement, says the research.
To address informality and achieve higher and more inclusive growth, the same report emphasized the importance of transitioning to a social protection system–thus enabling all citizens access to basic health services and at least a minimum income in old age–while eliminating preferential tax treatment of certain companies and encouraging the creation and growth of high-productivity firms.