Morocco's strict unemployment rate fell to 9.5% in the second quarter of 2026, down from 10.8% in the previous quarter, according to new figures released by the High Commission for Planning (HCP).
In its latest labor market report, the HCP said unemployment stood at 11.9% in urban areas and 5.4% in rural areas, reflecting declines of 1.6 percentage points and 0.7 percentage point, respectively, compared with the first quarter of the year.
Women continued to face significantly higher unemployment than men, with the rate reaching 14.8%, compared with 8.1% for men.
Young people remained the most affected demographic, with unemployment among those aged 15 to 24 standing at 27.2%, followed by the 25–34 age group at 14.5%.
The report also showed that unemployment was highest among people with advanced educational qualifications, at 16.7%, followed by those with intermediate qualifications (16%) and individuals with basic education (11.4%). People without formal qualifications recorded the lowest unemployment rate, at 3.8%.
Compared with the first quarter, unemployment fell by 1.3 percentage points for both men and women, declining from 9.4% to 8.1% among men and from 16.1% to 14.8% among women.
The HCP said the combined rate of strict unemployment and time-related underemployment, which measures the share of the labor force either unemployed or working fewer hours than desired, stood at 14% in the second quarter.
The combined rate reached 15.9% in urban areas and 10.8% in rural areas, while women were more affected (17.6%) than men (13%).
In absolute terms, Morocco recorded 1.121 million strictly unemployed people during the second quarter of 2026. Nearly 79.3% lived in urban areas, while 33.3% were women.
The number of unemployed declined by 132,000 compared with the previous quarter, including a reduction of 108,000 in urban areas and 24,000 in rural areas.
The report also found that 527,000 employed people were classified as time-related underemployed, with 56% living in urban areas. Meanwhile, Morocco's potential labor force, people outside the labor force but available or willing to work, stood at 711,000, representing 4.4% of the inactive population.
