Unemployment rises to 21 percent in Morocco's urban areas

Unemployment in Moroccan urban areas stood at 21 % up to last March, the Moroccan Statistics department said. Unemployment in Moroccan cities, which stood at 19 % last year, affects now 1.15 Million persons.

According to the statistics department, the unemployment rate at the national scale stands at 13.8 %, ie. 1.4 Mln persons of the 28-million strong population.

The department, whose investigation covered 48,000 urban households and 167,000 rural ones, said 80 % of jobless are city dwellers, while the rate does not exceed 5.9 % in the countryside.

The source imputes the worsening of joblessness in the cities to rural migration, the decrease in job opportunities in the textile industry and the increase of the number of school dropouts.

Women are more vulnerable to joblessness than men and their activities in the rural area are often unpaid, the department said.