Iran: Nine Provinces Register Single-Digit Unemployment Rates in Summer 2017

EghtesadOnline: Nine provinces, namely Semnan (7.1), Markazi (8.2%), Gilan (9.2%), East Azarbaijan and Mazandaran (9.5%), Hamedan and Zanjan (9.7%), Ardabil and North Khorasan (9.9%) registered single-digit unemployment rates in the second quarter of the current Iranian year (June 22-Sept. 22), the latest report by the Statistical Center of Iran said.

News ID: ۷۴۴۲۲۲

29 October 2017

Iran’s unemployment rate in the second quarter of the current fiscal year (June 22-Sept. 22) stood at 11.7%, registering a 1% decline compared with the same period of last year and a 0.9% decrease compared with the previous quarter.

The new data show Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari Province hit the highest unemployment rate of 18.3% among all Iranian provinces. Tehran Province, wherein lies the namesake capital city, registered a 12.5% unemployment rate.

SCI reports that 3.15 million Iranians were unemployed this summer. It also shows that 9.6% of men (or 2.07 million) and 20% of women (or 1.08 million) of ages 10 and above were jobless during the second quarter, Financial Tribune reported.

The unemployment rate was 13.3% for urban areas and 7.4% for rural areas. Joblessness was higher among women compared to men and among those living in urban areas.

The youth unemployment rate, i.e. the proportion of the population between the ages of 15 and 29, stood at 24.4% this summer, posting a 2.3% decrease compared with last year’s corresponding period and a 2% drop compared with previous quarter.

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 41% or 26.98 million people, registering a 0.6% rise year-on-year and a 0.4% increase compared with last winter.

The economic participation rates for men and women were 65.2% and 16.5% respectively. The rate was 40% for urban areas and 43.8% for rural areas. Part-time employees, those who are employed for less than 44 hours of service per week, constituted 9.2% of the country’s employed population in Q1, whereas 40.5% of the employees worked 49 hours or more per week.

North Khorasan had the highest labor force participation rate (47.4%) and Sistan-Baluchestan had the lowest labor force participation rate (30.7%), whereas Tehran registered a 40.8% participation rate in Q1.

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 49.5% of the Iranian population, whereas industrial and agricultural sectors provided 31.4% and 19.1% 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 and health services.