Morocco Jobless Rate Rises to 10.5% in Q3

Morocco's strict unemployment rate increased to 10.5% in the third quarter of 2026 from 9.5% in the second quarter, with 1.224 million people unemployed out of a labor force of 11.69 million, up from 1.121 million in Q2. The unemployment rate was higher among women, at 16.7%, compared with 8.7% for men, while youth unemployment among those aged 15–24 rose to 30.5% from 27.2% in Q2. Meanwhile, employment totaled 10.47 million, down from 10.64 million, while the participation rate stood at 42.2%. The services sector remained the largest employer, accounting for 5.155 million jobs, or 49.2% of total employment, followed by agriculture (2.425 million), industry (1.526 million), and construction (1.356 million). The figures are based on the newly introduced EMO 2026 labour force survey, launched in the first quarter of 2026, which applies updated international standards.

The strict unemployment rate in Morocco stood at 9.5% in the second quarter of 2026, with 1.121 million unemployed out of a labor force of 11.76 million. The unemployment rate was higher among women at 14.8%, compared to 8.1% for men, while youth unemployment among those aged 15–24 remained elevated at 27.2%. Meanwhile, employment totaled 10.64 million, while the participation rate came in at 38.2%. The services sector remained the largest employer, accounting for 5.251 million jobs, or 49.3% of total employment, followed by agriculture (2.569 million), industry (1.456 million), and construction (1.356 million). The figures are based on the newly introduced EMO 2026 labour force survey, introduced in the first quarter of 2026, which applies updated international standards.

The strict unemployment rate in Morocco stood at 10.8% in the first quarter of 2026, with 1.253 million unemployed out of a labor force of 11.62 million. Unemployment rate was higher among women at 16.1%, compared to men at 9.4%, while youth unemployment aged 15–24, remained elevated at 29.2%. Meanwhile, employment totaled 10.36 million, while the participation rate came in at 41.8%. The services sector remained the largest employer, accounting for 5.085 million jobs or 49.1% of total employment, followed by agriculture (2.541 million), industry (1.409 million), and construction (1.314 million). The latest figures are based on the newly introduced EMO 2026 labor force survey, which applies updated international standards. This includes a stricter definition of unemployment, limited to those actively seeking and available for work, and a revised concept of employment covering only paid or profit-generating activities, meaning the data are not directly comparable with previous series.