Morocco: unemployment rises to 10.5% in third quarter, HCP says

Unemployment in Morocco climbed to 10.5% in the third quarter of 2026, up 0.9 percentage points from the previous quarter, according to the High Commission for Planning (HCP).

Young people felt the strain most. Joblessness among those aged 15 to 24 reached about 30.5%, while the rate for women stood at 16.7%.

The labour force numbered 11.7 million people over the period, against 10.5 million in employment. The HCP recorded a net decline of 173,000 people, or 1.6%, compared with the previous quarter.

These figures cover unemployment in the narrow sense. The HCP defines the unemployed as people aged 15 and over who held no income-generating work during the week before the survey and who, in the preceding four weeks, had looked for a job or taken steps to set up a business.

In its 2027 budget bill, the government has announced a plan to bring young people into education, training and the labour market. The programme runs from 2027 to 2031, with an estimated budget of about 6 billion dirhams (around USD 610 million), aimed at bringing down the unemployment rate.