Unemployment in Moroco Falls in 2025, but Underemployment and Youth Joblessness Rise

The unemployment rate in Morocco was 13% in 2025, down 0.3 points compared to the previous year, according to the High Commission for Planning (HCP).

This rate fell from 6.8% to 6.6% (-0.2 points) in rural areas and from 16.9% to 16.4% in urban areas (-0.5 points), according to the HCP in its information note on the labor market situation in 2025, specifying that the number of unemployed people fell from 17,000 to 1,621,000.

According to the same source, the unemployment rate increased by 1.1 points to 20.5% among women and decreased by 0.8 points to 10.8% among men.

Unemployment rate drops to 13% in 2025 despite rising underemployment

With the exception of young people aged 15 to 24, whose unemployment rate rose by 0.5 points to 37.2%, unemployment rates for other age groups fell. Specifically, the unemployment rate dropped from 21% to 20.9% (-0.1 points) among those aged 25 to 34, from 7.6% to 7.2% (-0.4 points) for those aged 35 to 44, and from 4% to 3.6% (-0.4 points) for those aged 45 and over.

Depending on the degree, the unemployment rate fell by 0.5 points to 19.1% among graduates and by 0.5 points to 4.7% among those with no degree.

This rate saw the largest decreases among those with technical and middle management diplomas (-2.3 points with a rate of 24%), followed by those with professional qualification diplomas (-1.9 points with a rate of 22%).

Furthermore, unemployment in 2025 was marked by an increase in the proportion of first-time job seekers and long-term unemployment. The share of unemployed individuals who had never worked rose from 49.3% to 52.9%, and the share of those unemployed for a year or more increased from 62.4% to 64.8%. The average duration of unemployment increased from 31 months to 33 months.

On the other hand, 36.6% of the unemployed found themselves in this situation following the cessation or completion of studies or training and 25.4% following dismissal or cessation of the establishment’s activity.

Furthermore, 47.1% of the unemployed have previously worked. Nearly 81.3% of these unemployed individuals reside in urban areas, over three-quarters are men (75.4%), and 58.1% are young people aged 15 to 34. Nearly three-quarters of the previously employed unemployed (75%) hold a diploma; 46% have a secondary education diploma and 29% a higher education diploma.

Furthermore, 86.7% of these unemployed were employees and 12.2% were self-employed. Nearly 55.5% worked in the “Services” sector, 17.1% in “Industry” and 15.5% in “Construction and Public Works” (BTP).

As for the volume of underemployment, it increased from 1,082,000 to 1,190,000 people between 2024 and 2025, from 585,000 to 652,000 in urban areas and from 496,000 to 538,000 in rural areas.

The underemployment rate thus increased from 10.1% to 10.9% nationally, from 8.9% to 9.6% in urban areas and from 12.2% to 13.2% in rural areas.

All sectors of economic activity experienced an increase in the underemployment rate

The “Construction” sector recorded the largest increase (+2.1 points to 21.7%), followed by the “Agriculture, forestry and fishing” sector (+0.8 points to 12.9%), “Industry” (+0.8 points to 7.1%) and “Services” (+0.5 points to 8.4%).

Furthermore, the HCP indicates that the employed working population in a situation of underemployment related to working hours reached 617,000 people nationally in 2025, compared to 595,000 a year earlier.

The corresponding rate increased from 5.6% to 5.7% nationally, from 4.3% to 4.4% in urban areas and from 7.7% to 7.8% in rural areas.

The employed working population in a situation of underemployment linked to insufficient income or to the inadequacy between training and the job performed has increased, at the national level, from 486,000 people in 2024 to 573,000 in 2025.

The corresponding rate increased from 4.6% to 5.3% nationally, from 4.6% to 5.2% in urban areas and from 4.5% to 5.4% in rural areas.

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(Featured image by Hennie Stander via Unsplash)

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First published in LES ECO.ma. A third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

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