RABAT- Morocco’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 12.8% in the first six months this year from 12.5% in the same period of 2020, despite a good crop year that absorbed demand for jobs in rural areas, the planning agency said on Tuesday.

The number of unemployed people grew to 1.6 million as urban areas shed 228,000 jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic. This was partly offset by the creation of 100,000 jobs in the countryside after abundant rainfall.

Unemployment among those aged 15-24 dropped to 30.8% in the first half of this year from 33.4% in the same period last year.

Agriculture employs 33% of Morocco’s active workforce. Services employ 45%, industry 11% and construction 10.5%.

The informal economy accounts for 20% of non-agricultural GDP.

The planning agency said that, assuming average rainfall, it expects the North African country's economy to grow 5.8% in 2021 after a pandemic-driven contraction of 6.3% last year.

(Reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi Editing by Mark Heinrich) ((ahmed.eljechtimi@thomsonreuters.com;))