December 29, 2017
Nine of Iran’s 31 provinces are now enjoying single-digit unemployment rates, but Tehran is not one of them.
Semnan (7.1%), Markazi (8.2%), Gilan (9.2%), East Azerbaijan and Mazandaran (9.5%), Hamadan and Zanjan (9.7%), Ardebil and North Khorasan (9.9%) registered single-digit unemployment rates in the second quarter of the current Iranian year (June 22-Sept. 22), according to the latest report by the Statistical Center of Iran (SCI).
Iran’s national unemployment rate in the second quarter 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 figures understate the problem because, unlike most countries, Iran lists anyone working one hour in a month as employed.
The new data show Chahar Mahal va Bakhtiari Province with the highest unemployment rate of 18.3%. Tehran Province registered a 12.5% unemployment rate.
The youth unemployment rate, i.e. the non-working proportion of the population between the ages of 15 and 29, stood at 24.4% this summer.
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.