Unemployment Climbs to 12.4% in 2023 Q2

Morocco’s unemployment rate hit 12.4%, 1.2 points increase in the second quarter of 2023, Morocco’s Forecasts and Statistics Office (HCP) revealed on Thursday.
Accordingly, the national unemployment rate went up from 11.2% to 12.4% nationally. The same rate rose from 15.5% to 16.3% in urban regions and from 4.2% to 5.7% in rural zones.
The number of unemployed individuals climbed by 156,000 year on year, rising from 1,387,000 to 1,543,000 people (an 11% increase). The upsurge concerned 92,000 in urban areas and 64,000 in rural ones.
The upturn in joblessness affected all demographics. It rose by 1.1 points for men (from 9.9% to 11%), and by 1.9 points for women (from 15.1% to 17%).
Graduates were also affected as they saw a 1.2-point increase from 18% to 19.2%, while non-graduates experienced a 0.9-point increase from 3.6% to 4.5%.
The phenomenon is noticeable among youths aged 15 to 24 (+3.4 points), increasing from 30.2% to 33.6%, and among individuals aged 25 to 34 (+1.1 point), from 18.7% to 19.8%.
As for underemployment, it ascended from 939,000 to 983,000 people (from 500,000 to 549,000 in cities and from 439,000 to 434,000 in rural areas). Thus, the national underemployment rate went from 8.5% to 9%.