Unemployment on the Rise

Unemployment in Morocco jumped to 18.6 percent during the last three months of 1998 against 16.1 percent during the same period last year, the statistics department said.

The jump is attributed to the increase in the number of urban active population and the decrease of job supply, especially in the sectors of textile, construction and public works.

The urban active population increased by 4.2 percent in the last three months of 1998 over the same period last year, going up from 4,881,000 persons to 5,089,000.