SCI: Eight Provinces of Iran Register Single-Digit Unemployment Rates

Iran’s unemployment rate in the third quarter of the current fiscal year stood at 11.9%, registering a 0.4% drop compared with the same period of last year and a 0.2% increase compared with the previous quarter (summer).

Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari Province filed the highest unemployment rate of 21.1% and Hormozgan the lowest unemployment rate of 7.5% among all Iranian provinces. Tehran Province, wherein lies the capital city, registered an 11.2% unemployment rate.

According to the report, 3.14 million Iranians were unemployed this autumn–10.1% of men (or 2.14 million) and 19.1% of women (or 999,145) of ages 10 and above were jobless during the third quarter, Financial Tribune reported.

The unemployment rate was 13.2% for urban areas and 8.1% for rural areas. Joblessness was higher among women compared to men and among those living in urban areas.

Youth unemployment rate, i.e. the proportion of the population between the ages of 15 and 29, stood at 25% this autumn, posting a 1.4% decrease compared with last year’s corresponding period and a 0.6% rise compared with summer.

SCI has put this quarter’s labor force participation rate—the proportion of the population of ages 10 years and above that is economically active either employed or looking for work—at 40.1% or 26.47 million people, registering a 1.2% rise compared with the same quarter of last year and a 0.9% decrease compared with previous quarter. 

Men’s and women’s economic participation rates were at 64.1% and 15.9% respectively. The rate was 39.5% for urban areas and 42.1% for rural areas. 

Part-time employees, those who are employed for less than 44 hours of service per week, constituted 10.8% of the country’s employed population in Q3, whereas 37.1% of the employees worked 49 hours or more of service per week.

North Khorasan had the highest labor force participation rate (46.4%) and Sistan-Baluchestan had the lowest labor force participation rate (30.7%), while Tehran registered a 39.5% participation rate in Q3.  

Employment is defined as persons of working age engaged in any activity to produce goods or provide services for pay or profit, whether at work during the reference period or not at work due to a temporary absence from a job, or to working-time arrangement.

The services sector employed 50.1% of the Iranian population while industrial and agricultural sectors provided 32.6% and 17.2% of the population with jobs respectively.

The services sector consists of wholesale and retail trade; restaurants and hotels; transport, storage and communications; financing, insurance, real estate and business services; as well as community, social, education, health and personal services.

According to Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the head of Iran’s Planning and Budget Organization and government spokesman, the government is planning to create 1.33 million jobs in the next fiscal year (March 2018-19), of which 846,000 will be offered to university graduates.