7,400 Moroccan jobs created in past seven months

About 7,400 jobs were created in Morocco during the past seven months, Moroccan business weekly "La Vie economique" reported in its latest issue.

The jobs were created mainly in the textile, transports, hotel trade, metallurgy and electricity sectors thanks to the training-insertion program launched last year for the unemployed diploma-holders, the source added.

The program, which costs Morocco annually about $50 million, seeks to adapt training to the market's needs.

Under the program, the graduates undergo an 18-month long training and receive a monthly salary ranging between $160 and $260.

Moroccan Employment Minister Khalid Alioua said recently that the new Moroccan socialist-led government is determined to lower the unemployment rate from 18 percent to 5 percent.

There are one million unemployed persons including 250,000 university graduates. The unemployment rate among the 8.3 million working population varies between 16 and 18 percent.