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Casablanca- The national economy is expected to grow by 2.4 pc in 2014, against 4.4 pc in 2013, said, Wednesday in Casablanca, High Commissioner for Planning, Ahmed Lahlimi Alami.
This growth will help create 60,000 jobs, he said at the presentation of the “2014 Forecast Budget”, adding that the unemployment rate is expected to reach 9.8 pc at the national level in 2014 , against 9.1 pc a year earlier.
“This year will be marked by an increase in global demand for Morocco by 4.7 pc up from 1.6 pc in 2013, and a downward trend in commodity prices on international markets,”Lahlimi stated, noting that the average price of oil increased from 104.1 dollars per barrel in 2013 to 103.8 in 2014.
He said the price index for non-energy commodities would be marked by a further decline of about 4.2 pc, compared to the 1.5 pc in 2013.
In terms of sectoral developments, the High Commissioner for Planning stated that the growth of non-agricultural activities is expected to be 3.6 pc, instead of 2 pc in 2013.
In terms of domestic demand, Lahlimi said it will continue to be the driving force of national economic growth, contributing 2.6 points against 2.8 points in 2013.
The contribution of external demand to growth in gross domestic product (GDP) would remain negative (around 0.1 percentage points in 2014), down from 1.6 points in 2013, he said.
The forecasts for 2014 are established on the basis of an average scenario for agricultural production during the 2013-2014 crop year, and the new fiscal and budgetary measures announced in the 2014 finance bill, including expenditures, and subsidies.
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