Rouhani Raises Hope for Job Creation

President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday struck an upbeat tone on the economy saying employment for the first time reached close to 24 million in the third quarter to November 22. 
Addressing a weekly cabinet meeting, Rouhani said in autumn 623,000 new jobs were added compared to the same period in the previous year. 
"This is positive move given the circumstances of the country and when the number of employed at the start of my government (in 2013) was 20.6 million. In short, during the past years 3.3 million people found work," Rouhani said, the presidential website reported. 
Rising unemployment was a major sticking point during the 2017 presidential campaign after which Rouhani was reelected for a second and final term.  According to the Statistical Center of Iran, the jobless rate in summer was 12.2%.