Insights from the New Labor Force Survey
Morocco's High Commission for Planning (HCP), the nation's primary statistics authority, has recently unveiled the initial findings of its comprehensive labor force survey. This survey, which aligns with the International Labor Organization's criteria, sheds light on several pressing issues, including low workforce participation rates, significant gender disparities, and the continuous challenge of youth unemployment. The new methodology employed in this survey introduces stricter definitions that hinder direct comparisons with previous data sets. For instance, employment is now strictly defined as work conducted for remuneration or profit, while individuals who are available but not actively seeking employment are classified outside of the unemployment statistic.
Labor Force Participation and Employment Rates
Among the 27.8 million individuals of working age in Morocco, only 11.6 million are participating in the labor force, resulting in a participation rate of 41.8%. This statistic starkly illustrates the pronounced gender disparity, with 66.4% of men participating in the workforce compared to a mere 17.5% of women. Alarmingly, women comprise only 21% of the total labor force while representing 71.2% of those not engaged in work. Furthermore, nearly two-thirds of the active population resides in urban areas, indicating a concentration of employment opportunities in cities. Currently, 10.36 million people are employed, yielding an employment rate of 37.3%, which is notably higher in rural settings (40.7%) than in urban locales (35.5%). The services sector leads the employment landscape, accounting for 49.1% of jobs, followed by agriculture at 24.5%, industry at 13.6%, and construction at 12.7%. In urban regions, a substantial 64.3% of jobs are service-based, while agriculture constitutes 55.2% of rural employment.
Unemployment figures reveal that approximately 1.25 million individuals are currently unemployed, translating to a national unemployment rate of 10.8%. This figure escalates to 13.5% in urban areas compared to 6.1% in rural areas. Notably, women experience a higher unemployment rate of 16.1%, contrasted with a rate of 9.4% for men. Youth unemployment is particularly concerning, reaching 29.2% among those aged 15 to 24. When factoring in time-related underemployment, the overall unemployment rate jumps to 16.6%, underscoring the multifaceted nature of employment challenges within the country.
As reported by northafricapost.com.
