Why one quarter of young people sink into «NEETitude»
One quarter of young Moroccans aged between 15 and 24 (25.2%) are NEETs (neither in employment, education nor training), i.e. 1.5 million people. A chilling figure. A few days after the report by the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (see L’Economiste # 6762 of May 10, 2024) on this category of left-behind, the High Commissioner’s Office for Planning (HCP) has done it again. The institution headed by Ahmed Lahlimi has taken a particular interest in the profile of these «NEETs» and the determinants of their status, based on the 2022 National Employment Survey. Several variables were examined, such as age, gender, level of education, marital status, and geographic location.
So what is the profile of NEETs? First and foremost, they are women. Nearly three quarters of the total NEET population are made up of women. A survey carried out by the National Observatory for Human Development (ONDH) in 2020, in partnership with Unicef, found that 54% of NEETs were rural housewives with family responsibilities. The HCP highlights «significant disparities» between genders. Young women are affected by «NEETitude» to the tune of 37.3%, compared with only 13.5% of young men. This raises questions about equal opportunities for young women, according to the institution. In rural areas, the proportion of NEETs among women aged 15 to 24 rises to 51.5%, compared with 28.2% in urban areas. More than half of female NEETs are concentrated in four regions: Marrakech-Safi, Casablanca-Settat, Fez-Meknes and Rabat-Salé-Kénitra. And the older they are, the more likely they are to fall into this status (55.9% of the 20-24 year-olds).
6 out of 10 NEET women live in rural areas, and almost 9 out of 10 (87.5%) are inactive. This is a state of affairs that NEET women justify first and foremost by their family responsibilities. Three quarters of them mention the upkeep of their household and the education of their children. Around 9% confide their lack of interest in work, and 8% point to opposition to their activity from their father, spouse or family member.
The majority of Moroccan NEETs live in households where the head of the household has no qualifications.
The HCP analysis highlights the «complexity and diversity» of the circumstances facing this category, and underlines the importance of a «holistic and differentiated» approach to understanding its challenges and formulating appropriate strategies. With the Covid crisis in 2020, young people have suffered greater job losses than their elders, as well as greater educational and professional disruption. Hence the need to maximize actions targeting them, according to the HCP. Worldwide, these people account for 289 million.
Ahlam NAZIH
