Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Iran’s high unemployment rate still remains one of the country’s major economic challenges and necessitates that the government quickly find a solution to the problem.

Hassan Taei, Iran’s deputy minister of Cooperative, Labor, and Social Welfare, said the economy should grow by a rate of seven percent in near future so that enough job opportunities are created for educated, skilled youth labor.

He noted that the unemployment rate for the aforementioned cohort population is at about 22 percent.

Taei added that as of now, there are 22 million employed people by the Iranian economy and two million jobless people, Mehr news agency reported.

Iran’s total unemployment rate is 11.5 percent.

Taei said the youth unemployment rate stands at 18 percent, increasing to 21.5 to 22 percent for young, educated Iranians.

While considering the unemployment problem in Iran, it should be noted that for social reasons, the rate was higher among women compared to that of men. The unemployment rate for educated women is at a staggering 30 percent; meanwhile for men, it is 12 percent.

Taei further said sanctions and insufficient investment has led to an increase in the unemployment rate.

Earlier in June, Minister of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare Ali Rabiei said some 40 percent of Iranian university graduates were jobless.

“In order to attain a single-digit inflation rate, some 800-900 thousand jobs should be created,” he said.

Iran created 400,000 jobs in its production and industry sectors in the past fiscal year, ending on March 20, after accounting for the 200,000 workers who were laid off.

Many in Iran, as well as the incumbent government, blame the previous government’s mismanagement for the rising unemployment rate in the country. The experts said lack of an appropriate policy and accurate planning not only has caused business owners to face bankruptcy, but also has endangered the living standards of ordinary people and impeded life for the lowest-income earners in society.

Another reason for rising unemployment, especially among the young people, is that many of them fail to find appropriate jobs that fit their university education and training upon graduation.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

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