Morocco’s unemployment rate declined marginally to 12.8% in the second quarter of 2025,down 0.3 percentage points from 13.1% in the same period last year,according to the High Commission for Planning (HCP). While the improvement breaks recent upward trends,it masks deepening structural vulnerabilities in the labor market,particularly affecting youth,women,and rural communities.
Urban areas drove the modest recovery,with unemployment falling from 16.7% to 16.4% as cities created a net 114,000 jobs. The construction sector led employment gains with 74,000 new positions,followed by services adding 35,000 jobs and industry contributing 10,000. Significantly,the economy generated 132,000 salaried positions nationwide,suggesting a slight strengthening of formal employment.
Rural areas,however,continue hemorrhaging jobs,losing 107,000 positions primarily due to agricultural sector decline,which alone shed 108,000 jobs amid prolonged drought conditions. Paradoxically,rural unemployment fell to 6.2%,but this reflects workforce exits through discouragement and rural-urban migration rather than genuine improvement in employment prospects.
Structural weaknesses persist beneath headline improvements. Women’s unemployment rose to 19.9% from 17.7% last year,while youth unemployment remains critically high at 35.8% for ages 15-24 and climbs to 21.9% for the 25-34 cohort. Underemployment,a key indicator of job quality,worsened to affect 1.15 million people compared to 1.04 million previously,pushing the underemployment rate to 10.6%.
Regional disparities remain stark,with southern regions recording 25.7% unemployment and the Oriental region at 21.1%,contrasting sharply with Drâa-Tafilalet at 6.4% and Marrakech-Safi at 7.5%. Casablanca-Settat,despite concentrating 22.2% of the active workforce,maintains unemployment above the national average at 14.7%.
These figures underscore that Morocco’s employment challenge extends beyond job creation to ensuring equitable access to stable,dignified work across demographic and geographic divides,particularly as social pressures mount ahead of the autumn season.
United News - unews.co.za