Employment: 140,000 jobs created in the second quarter, and not just in agriculture
7 September 2010
Read by 1390 persons
Unemployment rate stood at 8.2% at the end of June, against 8% for the same period in 2009.
Construction and services are the biggest job creators.
Industry created 28,000 jobs, confirming the economic recovery.
Unemployment fell by almost two points between the first and second quarters of this year, going from 10% to 8.2% respectively. At this level, we can say that the labor market situation is relatively good, but we must take into account the seasonality effect, since the unemployment rate is expected to increase in the following quarters. Moreover, even compared to the end of June 2009, that is to say, eliminating the seasonality effect, the rate slightly increased (+ 0.2 points). The number of unemployed thus increased from 911,000 to 949,000 between the two periods, or 38,000 active people without a job (+ 4.2%). As always, young people are the most affected by unemployment; particularly the 15-24 age group whose unemployment rate increased from 15.7% to 16.3%. And among these young people, those living in urban areas are obviously the most affected since the inactivity rate concerning them is very high: 31% against 30.7% in June 2009. And even the 24-34 age group is not spared by unemployment, although to a lesser extent: 11.4% against 11.1% last year, with a rate of 17.1% in urban areas.
Despite everything, and as the statistics of the High Commission for Planning (HCP) show, the second quarters (see graph) are generally those where employment increases. Thus, 140,000 net jobs were created in the second quarter of 2010, including 92,000 in urban areas and 48,000 in rural areas. This is less than what was created in the second quarter of 2009 (232,000 jobs), but it is 2.1 times more compared to the first three months of this year (68,000 jobs).
At this time of year, the increase in job creation is generally explained by work related to the agricultural campaign. And when it is exceptional, as in 2009 (102 million quintals of cereals), it is understandable that the sector employs as many people as possible: last year, indeed, out of the 232,000 jobs created, 196,000 were in agriculture, forestry and fishing, representing a proportion of 84.5%. The rest was due to the construction and services sectors.
Agriculture lost 83,000 jobs
In 2010, the sectoral configuration of job creation changed, and this change curiously affected the sector that traditionally provides the most jobs at this time of year, namely agriculture: the primary sector, indeed, was not the source of any job creation, it even lost 83,000! Yet, we cannot speak of a bad harvest since the initial forecasts (60 million quintals of cereals) were exceeded (75 million quintals).
In fact, it was construction and services that offered the most jobs: 109,000 and 92,000 positions respectively. The third sector that contributed to job creation is, perhaps unexpectedly, industry with 28,000 positions. Last year at the same time, industry, still caught in the turmoil of the crisis, had not created any jobs; it had even lost some.
This employment configuration seems to corroborate the evolution of the economic situation, marked by a recovery in economic activity (+ 3.4% growth in the second quarter), particularly non-agricultural activity (+ 5%). During the first half of 2009, the situation was quite the opposite of what prevails today: with zero non-agricultural growth, it was the primary sector that generated most of the jobs created.
The improvement, since the beginning of the year, in foreign demand addressed to the Moroccan economy, is undoubtedly not unrelated to the job creations observed, particularly in industry.
Underemployment on the rise
And, nevertheless, the very slight increase in the unemployment rate, or even its maintenance at the level it was in the second quarter of 2009, seems to be the result of an increase in underemployment.
This phenomenon has indeed gained 1.6 points between the two quarters, going from 9.6% to 11.2%: 1,200,000 people at the end of June 2010, against 1,017,000 people at the same period in 2009.
Underemployment, we see, is greater than unemployment; the continued decline of the latter causing the former to increase.
But there is a logic to the development of underemployment; it is enough to look at the major job-creating sectors to see it: construction, services and, when the year is good, agriculture. Everyone knows that if construction and agriculture are sectors that indeed employ a lot of people, they are also (by nature?) those where employment is poorly developed, where seasonality is strong and, ultimately, where precariousness affects a higher number of workers.
But we could perfectly consider that these sectors have, in a way, the defects of their qualities: they offer low wages and rather precarious jobs, but the workforce, qualified or not, finds employment even for specific periods. Conversely, in industry, where jobs are "standardized", the rights of each other more or less well respected, recruitment, for these same reasons probably, remains very low, in any case far from equaling what is observed in other sectors.
However, it is in industry -and services too- that "real" jobs are created, that is to say, relatively well-paid jobs benefiting from social security systems...
Published on September 6, 2010
Posted online on September 7, 2010
Lavieeco.com
Construction and services are the biggest job creators.
Industry created 28,000 jobs, confirming the economic recovery.
Unemployment fell by almost two points between the first and second quarters of this year, going from 10% to 8.2% respectively. At this level, we can say that the labor market situation is relatively good, but we must take into account the seasonality effect, since the unemployment rate is expected to increase in the following quarters. Moreover, even compared to the end of June 2009, that is to say, eliminating the seasonality effect, the rate slightly increased (+ 0.2 points). The number of unemployed thus increased from 911,000 to 949,000 between the two periods, or 38,000 active people without a job (+ 4.2%). As always, young people are the most affected by unemployment; particularly the 15-24 age group whose unemployment rate increased from 15.7% to 16.3%. And among these young people, those living in urban areas are obviously the most affected since the inactivity rate concerning them is very high: 31% against 30.7% in June 2009. And even the 24-34 age group is not spared by unemployment, although to a lesser extent: 11.4% against 11.1% last year, with a rate of 17.1% in urban areas.
Despite everything, and as the statistics of the High Commission for Planning (HCP) show, the second quarters (see graph) are generally those where employment increases. Thus, 140,000 net jobs were created in the second quarter of 2010, including 92,000 in urban areas and 48,000 in rural areas. This is less than what was created in the second quarter of 2009 (232,000 jobs), but it is 2.1 times more compared to the first three months of this year (68,000 jobs).
At this time of year, the increase in job creation is generally explained by work related to the agricultural campaign. And when it is exceptional, as in 2009 (102 million quintals of cereals), it is understandable that the sector employs as many people as possible: last year, indeed, out of the 232,000 jobs created, 196,000 were in agriculture, forestry and fishing, representing a proportion of 84.5%. The rest was due to the construction and services sectors.
Agriculture lost 83,000 jobs
In 2010, the sectoral configuration of job creation changed, and this change curiously affected the sector that traditionally provides the most jobs at this time of year, namely agriculture: the primary sector, indeed, was not the source of any job creation, it even lost 83,000! Yet, we cannot speak of a bad harvest since the initial forecasts (60 million quintals of cereals) were exceeded (75 million quintals).
In fact, it was construction and services that offered the most jobs: 109,000 and 92,000 positions respectively. The third sector that contributed to job creation is, perhaps unexpectedly, industry with 28,000 positions. Last year at the same time, industry, still caught in the turmoil of the crisis, had not created any jobs; it had even lost some.
This employment configuration seems to corroborate the evolution of the economic situation, marked by a recovery in economic activity (+ 3.4% growth in the second quarter), particularly non-agricultural activity (+ 5%). During the first half of 2009, the situation was quite the opposite of what prevails today: with zero non-agricultural growth, it was the primary sector that generated most of the jobs created.
The improvement, since the beginning of the year, in foreign demand addressed to the Moroccan economy, is undoubtedly not unrelated to the job creations observed, particularly in industry.
Underemployment on the rise
And, nevertheless, the very slight increase in the unemployment rate, or even its maintenance at the level it was in the second quarter of 2009, seems to be the result of an increase in underemployment.
This phenomenon has indeed gained 1.6 points between the two quarters, going from 9.6% to 11.2%: 1,200,000 people at the end of June 2010, against 1,017,000 people at the same period in 2009.
Underemployment, we see, is greater than unemployment; the continued decline of the latter causing the former to increase.
But there is a logic to the development of underemployment; it is enough to look at the major job-creating sectors to see it: construction, services and, when the year is good, agriculture. Everyone knows that if construction and agriculture are sectors that indeed employ a lot of people, they are also (by nature?) those where employment is poorly developed, where seasonality is strong and, ultimately, where precariousness affects a higher number of workers.
But we could perfectly consider that these sectors have, in a way, the defects of their qualities: they offer low wages and rather precarious jobs, but the workforce, qualified or not, finds employment even for specific periods. Conversely, in industry, where jobs are "standardized", the rights of each other more or less well respected, recruitment, for these same reasons probably, remains very low, in any case far from equaling what is observed in other sectors.
However, it is in industry -and services too- that "real" jobs are created, that is to say, relatively well-paid jobs benefiting from social security systems...
Published on September 6, 2010
Posted online on September 7, 2010
Lavieeco.com
