Morocco: Unemployment Slightly Decreases in the Second Quarter of 2025

In the second quarter of 2025, Morocco created 132,000 paid jobs nationally, offsetting a loss of 126,000 unpaid jobs. The agriculture, forestry, and fishing sector experienced a decline of 108,000 positions, while other sectors contributed positively to job creation. The construction sector added 74,000 jobs, followed by the services sector with 35,000 jobs, and the industry sector with 2,000 jobs. Overall, the number of unemployed individuals decreased by 38,000, with 33,000 in rural areas and 5,000 in urban areas, bringing the total to 1,595,000 unemployed nationwide. As a result, the national unemployment rate dropped from 13.1% to 12.8%, with urban unemployment decreasing from 16.7% to 16.4% and rural unemployment falling from 6.7% to 6.2%. However, the unemployment rate remains higher among youth aged 15 to 24 (35.8%), graduates (19%), and women (19.9%). Additionally, the number of employed individuals in underemployment rose from 1,042,000 to 1,147,000 between the second quarter of 2024 and the second quarter of 2025. In urban areas, this figure increased from 552,000 to 635,000, while in rural areas, it rose from 490,000 to 512,000. Consequently, the underemployment rate increased from 9.6% to 10.6% nationally, from 11.6% to 12.4% in rural areas, and from 8.3% to 9.4% in urban areas.