(Ecofin Agency) - Last year in Morocco, the service sector generated a total of 267,000 new jobs, including 223,000 in the urban area and 44,000 in the rural zone. According to the High Commissioner of Planning, this figure is 5.7% higher than the 142,000 jobs created in 2018, making the sector the largest job generator over the period.

In the construction segment, 24,000 new jobs were created (6,000 in the urban area and 18,000 in the rural area) while the industrial segment, including handicrafts, created 17,000 jobs including 4,000 in urban areas and 13,000 in rural areas.

Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries lost 146,000 jobs, down 3.9% compared to 2018. In this segment, 160,000 jobs were lost in rural areas whereas 14,000 were generated in urban areas.

In 2019, unemployment rate in Morocco stood at 9.2%, compared to 9.5% the previous year. The number of unemployed people in the country rose from 1,137,000 to 1,107,000 between 2018 and 2019