EXPLORING YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IN MOROCCO: EVIDENCE FROM MICRO-LEVEL DATA

Marwa El Foutoun, Ahmed Kchikeche and Driss Mafamane

Faculty of Economic, Legal and Social Sciences, Department of Economics and Business Administration, University Mohammed V, Rabat, Morocco

This paper explores youth unemployment in Morocco using the Labor Force Survey of the 2019 data to estimate a logit model. The paper provides the evidence for the three categories of possible determinants of youth unemployment in Morocco. The first set of determinants are the geographic and sociodemographic characteristics such the sex, age, the marital status and the area of residence. Secondly, the socioeconomic factors such as the young people’s family background and the number of workers per household play a decisive role in explaining youth unemployment in Morocco. Thirdly and finally, the results obtained in this study show that (regardless of their diplomas) young graduates are more likely to be unemployed than persons without a diploma. However, the influence a diploma type has on the probability of being unemployed varies according to the diploma type. The results obtained shed a light on the important characteristics of youth unemployment in Morocco and should serve as a guide for future research in more specific knowledge gaps.

Keywords: labor market, youth unemployment, graduate unemployment, qualified labor, logit model

JEL Classification: J21, J24, J64, J71