Ahram Online
Reuters
Unemployment edges up to 9.1 per cent as construction activity dries up
Unemployment in Morocco inched up 9.1 per cent in the third quarter, clocking the second increase in a row due mostly to a drop in construction activity, official data showed.
The jobless rate stood at 8.7 per cent a quarter earlier and at 9 per cent in the third quarter of 2010, the state’s High Planning Commission (HCP) said on Thursday.
Unemployment in urban areas showed unemployment declined to 13.5 per cent in the third quarter from 13.8 per cent a year earlier. Half of Morocco’s employed are in rural areas where the majority tend small subsistence farms.
The jobless rate among those below the age of 34 rose to 31.4 per cent from 30.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2010.
“Two out of three (jobless Moroccans) have been without work for over a year, the same proportion as in the third quarter of 2010. But the percentage of those who have been looking for a job for at least five years rose from 21.1 per cent to 25 per cent,” HCP said.
Net job creation by the US$95 billion economy stood at 120,000 in the 12 months till end-September mostly in retail and industry branches in urban areas. Construction meanwhile recorded a marginal but second straight quarterly drop for the 1-million-employee sector.
Agriculture is Morocco’s top employer with around 40 per cent the total workforce while 450,000 is in tourism.
