Reuters
By Aziz El Yaakoubi
Unemployment in Morocco stood at 10 percent at the end of March, up from 9.9 percent a year earlier, official data showed on Thursday, after a severe drought hit the agriculture sector that accounts for more than 15 percent of national output.
The farm sector shed 28,000 jobs over the year to March, Morocco’s planning authority (HCP) said, though this was partly offset by gains in forestry and fishing. Farm incomes are volatile in the semi-arid north African country.
The government expects the 2016 cereal harvest to fall sharply after last year’s record crop of 11 million tonnes due to bad weather and more farm job losses are expected in 2016.
The government has been trying to develop new industries to cut reliance on agriculture, ease poverty and create more work for young people in urban areas.
The woes of the farm sector have put further pressure on the Moroccan government, which is already facing protests over austerity measures.
The industrial sector lost 14,000 jobs, the data showed. But construction and services added 6,000 and 10,000 jobs respectively, more than in previous years, a sign that the Moroccan economy has started to recover from years of recession caused largely by the euro zone debt crisis.
The euro zone is Morocco’s main trade partner.
The Finance Ministry has forecast the economy will grow this year by 3 percent, slowing from 4.4 percent in 2015. However, the planning agency said the drought would drag growth down to 1.3 percent in 2016.
Informal labour abounds in Morocco, making it hard to produce reliable employment figures.
(By Aziz El Yaakoubi; Editing by Gareth Jones)
