Morocco: Half a million job losses during second quarter of 2020

Official data revealed on Thursday that the Moroccan economy has lost more than half a million jobs in the second quarter of this year, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite the proactive measures that Morocco has implemented to counteract the impact of COVID-19, job losses are now in the hundreds of thousands. This figure represents 20 per cent of the country’s labour force in the formal sector.

According to a memorandum issued by the office of the High Commission for Planning on the labour market: “The national economy has lost 589,000 jobs in the second quarter of the current year, due to the loss of 520,000 jobs in rural areas and 69,000 jobs in urban sites.”

Micro-sized businesses are the hardest-hit by the crisis, representing 72 per cent of the companies declaring suspension of their activities, followed by small and mid-sized businesses (26 per cent) and large businesses (two per cent).

The jobs lost in the three months leading up to 30 June represent over three times the jobs that the Moroccan economy has created in three years.

Morocco: Ministry of Health suspends medical staff holidays