Thousands of people in Morocco have staged a large protest rally in the capital, Rabat, calling on the government to resolve the unemployment issue in the North African country.

Some 2,000 unemployed Moroccans, mostly youths, took to the streets in Rabat on Sunday and urged the government to respect their right to work by providing them with public sector jobs.

Over the past years, groups of jobless university graduates have been holding similar demonstrations in Rabat almost on a daily basis. Around 30 percent of Moroccans under the age of 34 are unemployed.

Jawad Karoom, one of the young demonstrators, said, “The solution for unemployment is to create government jobs, especially for those with university degrees.”

The participants in the Sunday march also rejected the idea of receiving a job in the country’s private sector.

“The private sector is not well-organized and there are no guarantees for wages or good benefits - the public sector guarantees dignity,” said Youssef Ben Ibrahim, another young protester.


The protesters also denounced Rabat’s insistence on exams to determine the skill level of job applicants.

The demonstration comes weeks before the parliament is set to discuss planned budget cuts. The Moroccan government has been under increasing pressure over faltering economy and efforts to cut expensive fuel subsidies.