Young people always between precariousness and underemployment

Out of the 5.9 million young people aged 15 to 24, only 16.3% are employed, i.e. 962,000 people. This is what emerges from the statistics of the Moroccan High Commission for Planning (HCP), in a document published on the occasion of International Youth Day. Among this population, 7.6% are looking for a job, while 76.1% are outside the labor market. It should be noted, however, that three quarters of these young people outside the labor market are pupils or students.

The rest are housewives (21.1%). Overall, the HCP points to a low participation of young people in working life. Their activity rate is 23.9% versus a national average of 45.3%. The activity rate of young people is 28.9% in rural areas versus 20.6% in cities. It is 3 times higher among young men than among young women, respectively 35.4% versus 12.1%. The decline in the activity rate is more pronounced among young people over the past 5 years, says the report. This activity rate fell by 4.3% compared to 1.4% for the entire population of working age. The three sectors grouping the bulk of young workers in employment are agriculture, forestry, and fishing (43.6%), and services (nearly half of young workers have the status of employees (48.6%). This is the most frequent status among young urban women, with a share of 86%, compared to 65.2% for urban men. Self-employment concerns 9.6% of young workers, standing at 11% among men and 4.1% among women. Family aid accounts for 37.3% of youth employment. This rate reaches  82.6% for young rural women. The HCP data also show the precarious character of jobs held by young people (2.8%) and industry (12.9%).

More than 4 out of 10 young people do unpaid work. This is particularly true in the rural world, with 58.8% of young people, versus 16.9% in cities. At the same time, 14% of young people have occasional or seasonal employment. Even worse, more than 7 out of 10 young people do not have a contract formalizing their relationship with the employer. For those who have such a contract, 13.2% are linked to their employer by a fixed term contract, 6.5% by a permanent contract, and 7.1% by verbal agreement. The proportion of young employees with no contract is 79.3% among men and 48.3% among women.        

M.A.M.