The employment rate stood at 37.8% (23.43 million) in the fourth quarter of the current Iranian year (Dec. 22, 2019-March 19), down 0.4% compared with the same quarter of the last Iranian year, according to the Statistical Center of Iran.
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.
Employment rates for men and women were 63% and 12.7%, respectively (19.51 million men and 3.92 million women). It was 36.9% or 17.44 million in urban areas and 40.8% or 5.98 million in rural areas.
According to SCI, Iran’s unemployment rate, the proportion of jobless population of ages 15 and above, stood at 10.6% in Q4, indicating a 1.7% decline compared with the same period of last year.
These numbers were calculated between Feb. 1-14, before the outbreak of coronavirus, when the labor market was in better shape.
A total of 2,788,587 Iranians were unemployed in Q4. Men’s unemployment stood at 9.2% while the rate for women hovered around 17.2%. Over 1.97 million men and 812,902 women of ages 15 and above were jobless in Q4.
The unemployment rate was 11.4% for urban areas (2.23 million people) and 8.5% for rural areas (554,330 people).
SCI put Q4 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 42.4% or 26.22 million people, registering a 1.1% decrease year-on-year.
Men’s and women’s economic participation rates were 69.4% and 15.3% respectively in the same period.
SCI reports that 21.49 million men and 4.73 million women of ages 15 and above were economically active in Q4, i.e., they were either employed or looking for job.
The center provides two figures for the youth unemployment rate: the proportion of the population between 15-24 years and those between 18-35 years.
The youth unemployment rate of those between 15-24 years stood at 25.7% in Q4, posting a 2.4% decrease while the unemployment rate of those between 18-35 years stood at 17.8%, posting a decline of 1.6% YOY.
The share of higher education unemployment from the total unemployed population was 39% in Q4, which indicates an increase of 1.4% year-on-year.
The unemployment shares of male and female graduates from the total unemployed population stood at 26.6% and 69.1%, respectively, while the share of higher education unemployment from the total unemployed population were 42.8% in urban areas and 24% in rural areas during the period.
