Unemployment - Afrikan Heroes

Morocco Reaches Record-Breaking Unemployment Rate of 12.7%

November 3, 2020

Morocco’s unemployment rate has maintained its growth, reaching 12.7% in the third quarter of 2020, from July to September. In the previous quarter, the unemployment rate broke the highest record since 2001 when it reached 12.3%.

By annual comparison, Morocco’s unemployment rate increased by 3.3 points. In the third quarter of 2019, it stood at 9.4%. The unemployment rate remains higher in Moroccan urban centers compared to rural areas. In cities, the unemployment rate rose from 12.7% in 2019 to 16.5% in 2020. Meanwhile, the rate in rural areas witnessed an annual increase from 4.5% to 6.8%.

Youth unemployment

Unemployment in Morocco remains most prevalent among young people aged 15 to 24, with 32.3% unemployed. Additionally, the unemployment rate among university graduates in Morocco is 18.7%. By gender, the unemployment rate is higher among women (17.6%) compared to men (11.4%).

Overall, the total number of unemployed Moroccans increased by 368,000 between the third quarter of 2019 and the same period in 2020. It went from 1,114,000 to 1,482,000, recording a 33% annual increase. Morocco’s High Commission for Planning (HCP) announced the new unemployment rate in its report on the domestic job market’s evolution in the third quarter of 2020. The HCP published the report on November 3.

Over half a million lost jobs

Between the third quarter of 2019 and the same period in 2020, the Moroccan economy lost 581,000 jobs, including 237,000 positions in cities and 344,000 in rural areas. The lost jobs are mainly attributed to the suspension of several economic activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The services sector lost the highest number of jobs between 2019 and 2020.

Over the past 12 months, the tertiary sector lost 260,000 positions, including 196,000 in urban centers and 64,000 in rural areas. The figure represents 5.2% of the sector’s overall jobs. The primary sector, mainly concerned with agriculture and fisheries, lost 258,000 jobs in total, while the industrial sector lost 61,000 positions.

Prevalent underemployment

Underemployment is also a prevalent challenge in the Moroccan economy. Underemployment occurs when a person does not work full time or takes a job that does not reflect their actual training and financial needs. According to the report, 1,182,000 Moroccans are underemployed, including 627,000 in cities and 556,000 in rural regions. Morocco’s national underemployment rate stands at 11.6%. It varies from 10.5% in urban centers to 13.3% in rural areas.

Territorial disparities

The HCP report highlighted significant territorial disparities in terms of unemployment rates.

The Oriental region, in northeastern Morocco, has the highest unemployment rate in the country, at 21.2%, followed by the southern regions (19.6%).

Three other regions recorded an unemployment rate that exceeds the national average: Casablanca-Settat (14.7%), Draa-Tafilalet (14%), and Fez-Meknes (12.9%).

Meanwhile, the regions with the lowest unemployment rates are Beni Mellal-Khenifra and Marrakech-Safi, with 5.9% and 7.8%, respectively.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

African Leadership Urged to Tackle Youth Unemployment Urgently

December 2, 2019

African leaders have been urged to tackle the youth bulge and address as a matter of urgency the imploding unemployment crisis facing young people across the continent. This was the submission at The 2019 African Economic Conference (AEC) which opened in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm El Sheikh today, with a call on African policymakers to take bold steps to tackle red-tape and high startup costs in order to create decent and well-paying jobs for the continent’s youth.

Addressing the opening plenary of the three-day conference, Egypt’s Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, Sahar Nasr said the conference provided a critical platform to address the challenges of jobs for the youth on the continent.

“Africa is the next development frontier and the youths will be the main drivers of our continent and our hope for a new continent,” Nasr said. “We need to think strategically and plan for the youths of today.”

For the country’s Central Bank Governor, Tarek Amer, who is also Egypt’s Governor for the African Development Bank, “this is a matter that all policy makers across our continent are concerned about – we all have a vision to create jobs and boost entrepreneurship…and the issue is how to convert the vision into reality.”

Charles Leyeka Lufumpa, acting Chief Economist and Vice President of the African Development Bank Group, said a lack of jobs for the bulging youth population has become a troubling socio-economic and political emergency that requires urgent, pragmatic and forward-looking solutions.

“It is troubling because joblessness could result in unrest and conflict. Having a decent job is an essential part of human dignity, and joblessness could threaten our social fabric and cohesion.”

The Bank has several other initiatives that have contributed significantly to youth empowerment across Africa. Notable among them is its Jobs for Youth Strategy to create 25 million jobs by 2025 and to equip another 50 million young people with a mix of hard and soft skills to increase their employability and entrepreneurial success.

With a little more than a decade left to achieve the targets of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development , the issue of youth productivity is critical for Africa, not least because the working age population is central to improving the continent’s productivity and competitiveness.

Adam Elhiraika, Director of Macroeconomics and Governance Division at the ECA, said to prepare young people for productive future work, governments should include in the educational curriculum action-oriented entrepreneurship modules for secondary, technical schools and universities.

Governments and development partners must help young entrepreneurs to identify financial help schemes, including grant schemes for innovative ideas with multiplier benefits, revolving and guarantee funds.

“Africa should work hard to make its cities engines of growth that in turn will generate employment for the youth and ensure there’s equitable growth on the continent thus ensuring no-one is left behind as enunciated in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” Elhiraika said.

One of the highlights of this year’s conference is a session for young African researchers to share their work and be the key proponents in shaping the future of the continent.

The AEC is jointly organized by the African Development Bank, the Economic Commission for Africa and the United Nations Development Programme yearly to discuss pertinent issues affecting the continent. This year’s event, the fourteenth edition, is hosted by the Bank on the theme; “Jobs, entrepreneurship and capacity development for African youth”.

Kelechi Deca