By Larbi Arbaoui
By Larbi Arbaoui
Morocco World News
Taroudant, February 5, 2013
According to the Moroccan High Planning Commission (HCP), an institution for prospective analysis and economic predictions, unemployment among the Moroccan workforce increased by 0.9%, from 1,028,000 in 2011 to 1,038,000 unemployed in 2012.
The( HCP) explained that the labor force, aged 15 and over, reached 11,549,000 people in 2012, a slight increase of 0.1% compared to 2011 (an increase of 0.9% in urban areas and a decrease of 0.8% in rural areas).
The highest increases in the unemployment rate were recorded among youth in urban areas, and among young people between 15 and 24 years (18.6%) and graduates (16.4%).
At sectorial level, the services sector generated 111,000 jobs, an increase of 2.8% in the volume of employment in the sector.
The losses of unremunerated jobs were reported mainly in the field of “agriculture, forestry and fishing” (108,000 posts against a decline of 18,000 in other sectors).
According to the note published in HCP’s website, in terms of employment, 127,000 remunerated jobs were created during the period (of which 72.4% are self-employment) as a result of the creation of 63,000 jobs in urban areas and 64,000 in rural areas.
Concerning the overall unemployed working population, the note indicates that one unemployed person out of four are graduate of higher level, one out of two are first-time job seekers and nearly two out of three are unemployed for over a year.
With only 1,000 jobs created in 2012, the creation of jobs remains a big problem that faces the government since it has not yet been able to absorb the increase in the labor force in the country.
Youth unemployment, especially among graduates remains the main challenge facing the PJD-led government, and it remains unclear whether these official figures given by the High Planning Commission reflect the reality on the ground.
