IMF Expects Iranian Unemployment Rate to Rise 0.2% in 2021

EghtesadOnline: The International Monetary Fund expects the unemployment rate in Iran to rise from 12.2% in 2020 to 12.4% in 2021.

News ID: ۷۵۱۲۹۱

18 October 2020

In its latest World Economic Outlook report, the IMF put the 2019 rate at 10.7%.

According to the Statistical Center of Iran's latest report, the country’s unemployment rate, the proportion of jobless population of ages 15 and above, stood at 9.5% in the second quarter of the current Iranian year, indicating a 1% decline compared with the same period of last year.

A total of 2,477,350 Iranians were unemployed in Q2. Men’s unemployment stood at 8.1%, while the rate for women hovered around 16.5%.

Over 1.75 million men and 725,433 women of ages 15 and above were jobless in Q2. The unemployment rate was 10.6% for urban areas (2.06 million people) and 6.3% for rural areas (412,578 people).

SCI put Q2 labor force participation rate—the proportion of the population of ages 15 and above that is economically active either employed or looking for job—at 41.8% or 26.01 million people, registering a 3.1% decrease year-on-year.

Men’s and women’s economic participation rates were 69.5% and 14.1% respectively in the same period.

A total of 21.62 million men and 4.39 million women of ages 15 and above were economically active in Q2, i.e., they were either employed or looking for a job.

SCI provides two figures for the youth unemployment rate: the proportion of the population between 15 and 24 years and those between 18 and 35 years.

The youth unemployment rate of those between 15 and 24 years stood at 23.1% in Q2, posting a 3% decrease while the unemployment rate of those between 18 and 35 years stood at 16.9%, posting a decline of 1% YOY.

The unemployment rate for university graduates stood at 14.9% in Q2, posting a 2.3% decrease YOY. Higher education unemployment rate for men stood at 10.9% and that of women stuck around 23.9%.

The share of higher education unemployment from the total unemployed population was 40.7% in Q2, which indicates a decrease of 3.1% year-on-year.

The unemployment shares of male and female graduates from the total unemployed population stood at 29.1% and 68.8%, respectively, while the share of higher education unemployment from the total unemployed population were 43.5% in urban areas and 26.5% in rural areas during the period.

The total Q2 employment rate was 37.8% (23.54 million), down 2.4% compared with the same quarter of last Iranian year. Employment rates for men and women were 63.8% and 11.8%, respectively, which constituted 19.87 million men and 3.66 million women in Q2.

The employment rate was 36.5% or 17.38 million in urban areas and 42.1% or 6.16 million in rural areas.

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 share of employment of university graduates stood at 24.4% of the total employed population, wherein male and female graduate employment was 20.9% and 43.2%, respectively. Graduate employment rates in urban and rural areas stood at 30.1% and 8.1% of the total population of job-holders.

Q2 statistics show that 36% of the country’s labor force worked more than 49 hours per week, indicating a 4.7% decrease over the same period of last year.