Morocco: Living standards of 43.9% of families dropping

A survey by Morocco’s High Commission for Planning (HCP) revealed that 43.9 per cent of households say they have been suffering from deteriorating living conditions in the past 12 months, while 32.5 per cent indicated that the situation is stable and 23.6 per cent see an “improvement”.

The HCP said in a statement released yesterday that “One-third of households in Morocco borrowed money in order to meet their general needs during the third quarter of 2019.”

The statement added that 61.5 per cent of Moroccan families believe their income covers their spending, 34 per cent resort to debt to cover spending, and 4.5 per cent managed to save part of their income during the third quarter of 2019.

Some 79.9 per cent of Moroccan families expect a rise in unemployment rates over the next 12 months, compared with 7.9 per cent who anticipate more people will get into work, according to the survey.

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According to the survey, 83.4 per cent of families expect food prices to continue to rise in the future, compared with 16.5 per cent who expect costs to be stabilized.

The growth of the Moroccan local economy depends mainly on the agricultural sector, which is negatively or positively affected by the rainy season.

On 3 July, the HCP forecast domestic economic growth to be at a rate of 2.4 per cent in the third quarter of 2019.

Morocco’s economy grew by three per cent during the same period last year.