Slight drop of unemployment in Morocco in first three months of 2001

The rate of unemployment has recorded a slight drop of 0.8 percent at the national level in Morocco during the first three months of 2001, standing at 12.7 percent compared to 13.5 percent during the same period last year.

The statistics department said in its latest newsletter "Reperes Statistiques" that the number of unemployed people went down from 1,403,000 to 1,317,000 and that the drop was recorded both in urban areas (from 21.4 percent to 20.1 percent) and in the rural world (5.1 percent to 4.4 percent).

The Moroccan economy succeeded in creating during this period some 149,000 jobs in urban areas, mainly in the sectors of transport and communication, trade and catering and hotel industry.