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Rabat – Morocco’s National Security Fund (CNSS) held a board of directors meeting this week, attended by the Minister for Employment Mohamed Yatim, to discuss 2018 activities and statistics on Moroccan wages.
The average salary of Moroccans who were covered by CNSS in 2018 was MAD 5,188 ($541.63) per month, reports the social security fund.
Broken down into specific sectors, the average wages vary. Public sector average wages sat at MAD 7,549 per month ($788.12). The highest paid workers were employed in the financial and insurance sectors (MAD 14,749 per month or $1,538.39), followed by the IT and communications sector (MAD 10,953 per month or $1,142.45).
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The lowest paid workers were employed in the agriculture sector (MAD 3,028 per month or $315.84), and in the hospitality sector (MAD 3,963 or $413.36).
The median salary, which gives an indication of where most of the wages sit, was MAD 2,723 ($284.28).
These figures only show data collected from the 3.47 million employees declared to the CNSS. Many Moroccan workers are not declared to the CNSS.
While the overall average wage increased since 2017 by 1.7%, consumer prices have also increased. Many workers receive less than Morocco’s minimum wage of MAD 2570 per month, which paints a concerning picture when it comes to Moroccans’ purchasing power.
Price increases and a drop in purchasing power were at the heart of a national-scale consumer boycott last year. The boycott campaign spread through social media between April and June, targeting Centrale Danone (the Moroccan subsidiary of global milk product company Danone), Sidi Ali (a local bottled water producer), and the Afriquia petrol stations, as they upped their prices.
The boycott was widespread, showing the populations’ concern with taking concrete action against economic disadvantage. Unlike the Hirak Rif uprisings in 2016 and 2017, where Moroccans from disadvantaged regions of the country demanded economic opportunity, last year’s boycott included Morocco’s middle and middle-to-upper classes.
Following the boycott, Danone’s annual 2018 sales in Morocco dropped by MAD 1.9 billion (approximately $200 million).
