Unemployment rate in Morocco downs to 12.9 %

Morocco's unemployment rate shrank to 12.9 % to stand at 1.32 million during the second quarter of 1999 compared with the first quarter, says a report by the Moroccan statistics department.

The number of unemployed totaled 1.44 million or 13.8 % of the workforce of 10.4 million during the January-March period, the source adds.

The highest unemployment rate (37.7%) was among Moroccans aged between 15 and 34 years, the report says, noting

that the jobless rate in urban zones remained above 21 % despite a small decline during the second quarter.

Holders of university or high school diplomas accounted for 23.5 % of the total jobless, down from 27.9 % in the first quarter, the statistics department says.