HCP examines the textile and leather industry: the sector recovers, but jobs do not follow.
20 February 2015
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Between 2013 and 2014, 32,000 jobs were lost in the sector, a 7% year-on-year reduction. The different sectors of the industry share these losses unequally.
While the textile industry is recovering, its employment performance is slow to follow. This is what emerges from the latest economic activity monitoring and analysis report from the High Planning Commission (HCP). It highlights a disconnect between employment and exports in the textile and leather industry.
One figure to illustrate this: between 2013 and 2014, 32,000 jobs were lost in the sector, representing a 7% year-on-year reduction. The different sectors of the industry share these losses unequally. In textiles, employment fell by 14%, while the decrease was less significant in clothing and footwear, which lost 4.6% and 8.6% respectively.
Thus, 2014 followed the established trend. Since 2007, the downward trend has been most marked in this sector. Between 2008 and 2014, the textile and leather industry lost nearly 119,000 jobs.
However, 2014 was a year of recovery for the sector. The added value of the textile and leather industries improved by 1.2% year-on-year, after falling by 2.7% in 2013. This improvement is driven by increased production in clothing and textile units, particularly clothing, carpets, knitwear, and travel goods.
Other industries saw modest or declining growth. It should also be noted that this increase is itself due to improved external demand. Exports of ready-made clothing and footwear increased by 5.3% and 3% respectively in 2014, benefiting from increased imports from Spain and the United States, whose economies are gradually recovering from the effects of the economic crisis. Thanks to this performance, the contribution of the textile sector's foreign sales reached 16.7% of total exports in 2014, compared to an average share of 17.6% over the previous four years and 23.4% between 2007 and 2010.
So why aren't these encouraging results stopping the haemorrhage of job losses?
According to the HCP analysis, this is due to caution on the part of companies in the sector. Since 2008, these companies have been constantly forced to adjust their workforce to cope with the slowdown in their activity, partly due to the international economic crisis. It is precisely the uncertainty surrounding the recovery of European economies, supported by the weak economic performance of France and Portugal (the sector's main export markets), that is driving textile bosses to be cautious.
Another explanation for this phenomenon could be the composition of the sector's workforce. The proportion of companies with organized accounting and employing more than 50 people does not exceed 15.7%, while units employing fewer than 6 people represent 51% of the sector.
Regarding the quality of these jobs, 70% of workers do not have medical coverage and are mainly seasonal, casual, or unpaid workers. For those who are salaried, more than 3 out of 5 employees in the sector do not have a work contract.
Textile and leather: An industry that carries weight
The textile industry has long been considered a national champion, especially in terms of exports. The sector is the country's leading industrial employer, with nearly 42% of national industrial jobs. The textile and leather industry contributes an average of 20% to the added value of manufacturing industries.
The sector also contributes 24% to Moroccan exports of goods and 7% to national GDP. This sector includes three activities: firstly, textile products (spinning, weaving, textile finishing, textile articles, carpets and other textile industries, knit fabrics, knitwear) which contribute 19% to the sector's production; secondly, clothing and furs (leather clothing and textile clothing), whose contribution amounts to approximately 78% of the sector's production; and finally, leather products and travel goods (leather finishing and tanning, travel and leather goods, and footwear), which contribute 3% to the sector's production.
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While the textile industry is recovering, its employment performance is slow to follow. This is what emerges from the latest economic activity monitoring and analysis report from the High Planning Commission (HCP). It highlights a disconnect between employment and exports in the textile and leather industry.
One figure to illustrate this: between 2013 and 2014, 32,000 jobs were lost in the sector, representing a 7% year-on-year reduction. The different sectors of the industry share these losses unequally. In textiles, employment fell by 14%, while the decrease was less significant in clothing and footwear, which lost 4.6% and 8.6% respectively.
Thus, 2014 followed the established trend. Since 2007, the downward trend has been most marked in this sector. Between 2008 and 2014, the textile and leather industry lost nearly 119,000 jobs.
However, 2014 was a year of recovery for the sector. The added value of the textile and leather industries improved by 1.2% year-on-year, after falling by 2.7% in 2013. This improvement is driven by increased production in clothing and textile units, particularly clothing, carpets, knitwear, and travel goods.
Other industries saw modest or declining growth. It should also be noted that this increase is itself due to improved external demand. Exports of ready-made clothing and footwear increased by 5.3% and 3% respectively in 2014, benefiting from increased imports from Spain and the United States, whose economies are gradually recovering from the effects of the economic crisis. Thanks to this performance, the contribution of the textile sector's foreign sales reached 16.7% of total exports in 2014, compared to an average share of 17.6% over the previous four years and 23.4% between 2007 and 2010.
So why aren't these encouraging results stopping the haemorrhage of job losses?
According to the HCP analysis, this is due to caution on the part of companies in the sector. Since 2008, these companies have been constantly forced to adjust their workforce to cope with the slowdown in their activity, partly due to the international economic crisis. It is precisely the uncertainty surrounding the recovery of European economies, supported by the weak economic performance of France and Portugal (the sector's main export markets), that is driving textile bosses to be cautious.
Another explanation for this phenomenon could be the composition of the sector's workforce. The proportion of companies with organized accounting and employing more than 50 people does not exceed 15.7%, while units employing fewer than 6 people represent 51% of the sector.
Regarding the quality of these jobs, 70% of workers do not have medical coverage and are mainly seasonal, casual, or unpaid workers. For those who are salaried, more than 3 out of 5 employees in the sector do not have a work contract.
Textile and leather: An industry that carries weight
The textile industry has long been considered a national champion, especially in terms of exports. The sector is the country's leading industrial employer, with nearly 42% of national industrial jobs. The textile and leather industry contributes an average of 20% to the added value of manufacturing industries.
The sector also contributes 24% to Moroccan exports of goods and 7% to national GDP. This sector includes three activities: firstly, textile products (spinning, weaving, textile finishing, textile articles, carpets and other textile industries, knit fabrics, knitwear) which contribute 19% to the sector's production; secondly, clothing and furs (leather clothing and textile clothing), whose contribution amounts to approximately 78% of the sector's production; and finally, leather products and travel goods (leather finishing and tanning, travel and leather goods, and footwear), which contribute 3% to the sector's production.
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