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In Morocco, the number of strictly unemployed people stood at 1,253,000 in the first quarter of 2026, of whom 31.3% are women. According to a labor market report by the High Commission for Planning (HCP), the unemployment rate reached 10.8%, including 16.1% for women and 9.4% for men. Young people aged 15 to 24 are the most affected (29.2%), followed by those aged 25 to 34 (16.1%).
The report also indicates that 671,000 employed individuals are affected by insufficient working hours. In addition, the potential workforce is estimated at 884,000 people, representing 5.5% of those outside the labor force. Overall, Morocco’s working-age population (15 and over) stands at 27.8 million, while the labor force totals 11,617,000 people, of whom 21% are women.
The most represented age groups in the labor force are those aged 25–34 and 35–44, at 56.7% and 56.5% respectively. They are followed by those aged 45 and over (38%), while the 15–24 age group accounts for the lowest share (23.4%). The number of employed people stands at 10,364,000, with women representing nearly 19.7%.
The HCP also reports that the composite rate of labor underutilization, which reflects the overall unmet demand for work, reached 22.5%. This rate remains particularly high among young people aged 15 to 24 (45.3%) and women (31.1%).
The HCP noted that this new Labor Force Survey (EMO 2026) marks the first in a new generation of labor market studies in Morocco, aligned with international standards adopted during the 19th, 20th, and 21st International Conferences of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
These changes include a redefinition of employment, now limited to activities carried out for pay or profit; the adoption of a stricter definition of unemployment to better capture immediate labor market pressure; and an expanded measure of labor underutilization, which now includes time-related underemployment and the potential workforce.
