The unemployment rate in Morocco among young individuals aged 15 to 24 years is 31.8%, the High Commission for Planning (HCP) revealed on Friday.
This age group represents 5.9 million out of the kingdom’s 36 million total population, of which 16.3% have jobs (962,000) and 7.6% are unemployed (448,000).
The report, marking International Youth Day, indicated that the unemployment rate for people aged 25 to 44 years is 13.7% and 3.8% for those aged 45 and more.
It pointed out that almost three out of every 10 jobless Moroccans (29.7%) are young people and that nearly three out of four (75.8%) unemployed young people live in urban areas, 67.3% are men and 90.1% are graduates.
According to the report, the youth unemployment rate is higher in urban areas and among young women.
It reaches a peak of 46.7% in urban areas and 15.9% in rural areas. Young women have a 13 percentage point greater unemployment rate than males (41.9% against 28.4%), the HCP noted.
The HCP also pointed out that youth unemployment includes both long-term unemployment and difficulties in gaining first-time entry into the labor market.
The report found that 70.4% of jobless youths have been out of work for a year or longer, and nearly three-quarters (73.4%) have never worked.
The HCP reported a low participation of youths in the labor market, as their activity rate reached 23.9%, compared to 45.3 percent for the total population.
Also, the male youth activity rate at 35.4% is three times higher than that of females at 12.1%.
During the past five years, the decline in the activity rate was more evident among young people, as this rate decreased by 4.3 points, compared to 1.4 points of the total population aged 15 and more.
