The Moroccan economy remains heavily dependent on agriculture (20 percent of GDP, 40 percent of employment), and thus highly sensitive to weather conditions. Unemployment is high, and the labour force is growing considerably (3 percent), with increasingly broad participation by women in the labour force. Large segments of the population are still socially and economically marginalised, with some 15 percent of the population considered poor. In spite of the progress recorded over the past few years, current economic dynamics are insufficient to maintain employment and meet these challenges. A National Initiative for the Human Development (NIHD) was launched in May 2005, aiming at reducing the social and geographical disparities, developing employment and income, and helping vulnerable populations by means of a participative and transparent process. The total cost of the Initiative over the period 2006-2010 is estimated at 10 billion dirhams (2 percent of the GDP). The rate of unemployment dropped significantly in 2006 to 9.7 percent at national level, vs. 11.1 percent in 2005, according to the High Planning Commission (HCP). This rate declined to 15.5 percent in urban area (18.4 percent in 2005) and 3.7 percent in rural area (3.6 percent in 2005).