Morocco Jobless Rate at Record High

Unemployment rate has reached record high among urban youth in Morocco, local media reported on Saturday, Xinhua reported. Citing official data from the high commission for planning, Medias24.com news site said that unemployment rate among people aging between 15-24 in Moroccan cities stood at 45.2% in the third quarter of 2017. The same source said that unemployment in this category had been on the rise since 2010, when it was only 29.1%. The overall unemployment rate in Morocco increased to 10.6% in the third quarter of 2017, up from 10.4% a year ago. The number of jobless people grew by 42,000 to reach about 1.3 million. The urban unemployment rate rose from 14.5% to 14.7%, while the rate remains low at 4.6% in rural areas, the data said. In the third quarter, 89,000 new jobs were created in Morocco, with 47,000 in agriculture sector, 20,000 in service sector, 20,000 in construction and 15,000 in the industry sector. The new Moroccan government has vowed to reduce unemployment rate to 8.5% by 2021.