The Moroccan economy created 405,000 jobs nationwide between the second quarter of 2020 and the same period of 2021, against a loss of 589,000 jobs a year earlier, according to the High Planning Commission (HCP). In the same period, 414,000 jobs were created in rural areas while 9,000 jobs were lost in urban areas, the HCP points out in its information note on the labour market situation in Q2-2021.
By category, paid employment recorded a creation of 215,000 jobs at the national level, resulting from the creation of 218,000 in rural areas and a loss of 3,000 jobs in urban areas, according to the same source. Unpaid employment, for its part, saw the creation of 190,000 jobs, a consequence of the creation of 195,000 jobs in rural areas and a loss of 6,000 jobs in urban areas.
The activity rate increased from 44.8% to 46.1% between Q2-2020 and Q2-2021, notes the HCP, adding that it increased from 42.2% to 42.6% in urban areas and from 49.6% to 52.9% in rural areas. With this increase, the activity rate reached a level similar to that recorded before the pandemic (45.8% in Q2-2019).
The employment rate, for its part, increased from 39.3% to 40.2%, at the national level (+0.9 points). It increased to 50.4% in rural areas, and fell to 34.9% in urban areas. This rate increased to 62.2% among men (+0.4 point) and to 18.9% among women (+1.4 point). However, the employment rate remains below the level recorded before the pandemic (42.1% Q2-2019).
