Morocco’s HCP Counts 1.36 Million Underemployed in Q2 2020

Rabat – The High Commission for Planning (HCP) has reported that the number of underemployed workers in Morocco rose from 365,000 to 1,359,000 during the second quarter of 2020.

HCP released an information note about the situation of the labor market in the second fiscal quarter of 2020. The figures draw a comparison between the second quarter of 2019 and the same period of 2020.

During this quarter the underemployment rate increased from 7.8% to 12.2% in urban areas and from 10.6% to 14.1% in rural areas.

Approximately 753,000 workers in urban areas and 606,000 who reside in the rural areas were unemployed during the second quarter.

Meanwhile, the number of individuals underemployed due to a decline in working hours almost tripled, increasing from 343,000 to 957,000.

Overall, the average number of hours worked per week per person decreased from 45 to 22. The decline in working hours affected all sectors, HCP noted.

“In addition, 265 million working hours per week were lost from the second quarter of 2019, which equates to 5.5 million full-time jobs,” revealed HCP.

They added that this decline mainly affected the sectors of construction by 71%, followed by industry and crafts by 63%, services (54%) and agriculture, and forestry and fishing (41%).

The number of underemployed linked to insufficient income or a disparity between training and employment grew from 652,000 to 402,000 across Morocco.

HCP noted that the largest number of underemployed workers are those aged 45 to 59, marking an increase of 5.3%.

The next largest population is those who have no qualifying diploma, with an increase of 4.2%. Next is men, with a 4% increase.

Morocco‘s sectors with the highest rate of underemployed workers include handicrafts, with a rise from 5.9% to 12.7%, followed by construction (from 15.1% to 21%), and the service industry(7.7% to 11.5%).

HCP affirmed that the situation resulted from the COVID-19 crisis that has marked the second quarter of 2020.