2010 Employment Report: One in Five Young People Unemployed
19% OF 25-34 YEAR OLDS UNEMPLOYED
THE ECONOMY CREATED 120,000 JOBS LAST YEAR
What do the unemployment figures for 2010 hide? A first reading of the statistics from the High Planning Commission shows a stagnation compared to last year. The national unemployment rate remained at 9.1%, but significant disparities remain depending on whether one lives in the city or in rural areas. They are also palpable according to the level of education or gender.
In cities, the unemployment rate exceeds the national level by 4.6 points at 13.7%. Women are among the group that suffers the most from the phenomenon: 19.8% of them are unemployed compared to 12.1% for men. The rate thus exceeds the national average by 10.7 points. Young people are also numerous to not find employment: 19.1% of young people aged 25 to 34, or one in five, are unemployed. The same is true for graduates, who have an unemployment rate of 18.1%. This is the category that poses the most problems of integration into the world of work. Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi announced the integration of 1,880 young graduates into the civil service, thus granting them a portion of the budget positions created in the 2011 finance law. A drop in the ocean in the immense "club" of unemployed graduates. The problem of young graduates remains whole. In the private sector, recruitment often encounters the inadequacy of profiles due in part to training often disconnected from the reality of the labor market.
In rural areas, the unemployment rate remains low: 3.9% in 2010 compared to 4% in 2009. But here too, disparities exist. It is mainly graduates who suffer from the phenomenon: 11.4% of them are unemployed, a level exceeding the national average by 1.3 points.
Rural areas are also characterized by a larger underemployed workforce: 693,000 people compared to 515,000 in cities. In total, the underemployment rate reached 11.6% compared to 10% in 2009. In other words, 1.2 million people are in uncomfortable situations. They must cope either with insufficient working hours, or with a job that is inadequate with their training or an activity that provides them with insufficient income.
In total, the active population aged 15 and over reached 11.442 million people, an increase of 1.1% compared to 2009. The activity rate, for its part, slightly decreased, falling from 49.9% in 2009 to 49.6% in 2010. The HCP statistics also show a slight decline in salaried employment: 57.7% in 2010 compared to 58.2% a year earlier. On the other hand, self-employment increased by 0.5 points. During 2010, where the growth rate projected by the HCP is 3.3%, 131,000 paid jobs were created (66,000 in cities against 65,000 in rural areas). Unpaid employment decreased by 11,000 jobs. Overall, the volume of employment increased from 10.285 million in 2009 to 10.405 million in 2010. And therefore, net job creation amounted to 120,000 jobs.
Published February 4, 2011
Posted online February 7, 2011
