Morocco’s Labor Market in 2024: Rising Unemployment and Economic Challenges Ahead
An In-Depth Analysis of Job Market Dynamics, Structural Changes, and the Impact of Rising Unemployment on Morocco’s Economy in 2025.
Watan-Moroccan economic analysts and academics gathered to examine labor market trends in Morocco during 2024 and the anticipated effects of rising unemployment on the economy in 2025. Their analysis highlighted the continued “feminization of unemployment” and its predominance as a “rural phenomenon.” The unemployment rate increased from 6.3% to 6.8% in rural areas (a rise of 0.5 percentage points) and from 16.8% to 16.9% in urban areas (a rise of 0.1 percentage points).
In the past year, official figures from the High Commission for Planning (HCP) also showed an “increase in the percentage of newly unemployed individuals,” with the proportion of unemployed people for less than a year rising from 33.3% to 37.1%. Consequently, the “average duration of unemployment” decreased from 32 months to 31 months.
Despite a limited recovery after the gradual exit from the effects of the pandemic, Morocco’s economy managed to create only 82,000 jobs in 2024. This resulted from the loss of 157,000 jobs in 2023 and the creation of 162,000 jobs in urban areas while losing 80,000 in rural areas. Meanwhile, the “activity rate” (taux d’activité) remained almost unchanged between 2023 and 2024.
Structural Changes
Mohamed Adel Ichou, a professor of economics and management at the University of Beni Mellal, noted that “the Moroccan labor market in 2024 witnessed significant structural changes, with the unemployment rate rising to 13.3% compared to 13% in 2023, reflecting the worsening challenges facing the national economy.”
Ichou pointed out that this trend was particularly evident among young people. In his analysis of the HCP report published in early February, he remarked: “It is striking to see the unemployment rate among the 15–24 age group increase from 35.8% to 36.7%, while among the 25–34 age group, it rose from 20.6% to 21%.” He also noted that unemployment among women increased by 1.1 percentage points to reach 19.4%, concluding that this is an “indicator of the weak and fragile integration of women into the labor market.”
He explained that these figures reflect the continued inverse relationship between economic growth and unemployment, as confirmed by a study on “Okun’s Law” in Morocco. The study demonstrated that unemployment responds more sharply to economic slowdowns than to periods of growth, indicating the economy’s weak ability to generate sustainable job opportunities.
Ichou identified three key factors contributing to rising unemployment in Morocco:
- Mismatch between skills and labor market demands
- Dominance of traditional sectors in employment, where jobs are concentrated in fragile sectors such as services, construction, and agriculture, making them vulnerable to economic fluctuations
- Weak innovation and investment in the digital economy
He warned: “The data for 2024 indicates a continued rise in unemployment, which will directly impact economic growth and social stability in 2025 unless structural and radical measures are implemented.”
Although 82,000 new jobs were created, Ichou emphasized that this was insufficient to compensate for previous job losses. He urged the government to adopt flexible and innovative economic policies aimed at fostering sustainable job opportunities and balancing growth with employment.
The professor stressed the urgency of labor law reforms, arguing that “reducing restrictions on temporary contracts and increasing labor market flexibility could encourage businesses to create more jobs.” He also highlighted the importance of promoting entrepreneurship and small businesses by offering financial support and incentives to startups as a potential solution to unemployment, especially among young people.
Employment-Oriented Development
Zakaria Firano, a professor of economics at Mohammed V University in Rabat, observed that “the unemployment rate continues to rise within the national economic system,” attributing this trend to three main factors.
Firano explained that the first factor is the decline of the agricultural sector, which has suffered from six consecutive years of drought and water scarcity. He stressed the need to modernize agriculture through mechanization and advanced irrigation technology while shifting to a new developmental paradigm with crops adapted to the changing climate.
The second factor is the inability of non-agricultural sectors to generate enough jobs due to their low added value. He explained: “While Morocco has developed a more dynamic secondary and tertiary sector (particularly in services), the growth rate of added value in these sectors has not exceeded the 4% threshold. This explains their limited ability to create increasing job opportunities.”
The third factor concerns the effectiveness of investment, which Firano considers “even more crucial.” Despite Morocco investing 28% of its GDP into the economy, most investments remain public and inefficient in generating employment and added value. He pointed out that Morocco’s investment efficiency is low, with only a 0.8% increase in employment for each 1% growth in GDP.
He also highlighted the negative impact of the unstable global economic context following the uncertainty since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The sluggish international economy has weakened foreign demand for Moroccan products, limiting job creation and added value.
Firano noted that Morocco’s unemployed population reached 1.638 million by the end of 2024, marking a 4% increase, largely due to rising unemployment in rural areas.
In urban areas, several sectors have lost jobs, particularly traditional industries such as construction, which is no longer able to generate sufficient employment compared to a decade ago.
He concluded: “A developmental vision focused on employment is crucial. Employment-driven development must be a national priority to boost added value and job creation.”
He warned that the persistence of unemployment among recent graduates and degree holders signals a gap between the education system and labor market needs. He urged greater efforts to develop new industries such as renewable energy, automotive, aerospace, and defense manufacturing, which could offer new employment opportunities.
