A report recently made public by the Moroccan Bureau of Statistics has shown that the rate of unemployment in the country reached 13.2 percent in the second quarter of 2000.
These figures, appearing in the Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper, revealed that this figure represents a relative increase compared with the 12.9 percent rate during the second quarter of 1999. The number of unemployed grew from 1,823,000 to 1,073,000 in the period in question.
The report showed, however, that the local labor market has begun a slight trend of recovery. The number of employed people aged 15-years and older declined by only 0.4 percent, from 9,009,000 in the second quarter of 1999 to 8,779,000 in the corresponding period of this year. Furthermore, the employment rate increased by 1.1 percent in rural regions, while in urban areas it decreased by 1.3 percent. –(Albawaba-MEBG)
