Only 8.6% of Jobless Iranians Receive Unemployment Benefits

A small percentage of labor force in Iran manages to collect unemployment benefits in the event of losing their jobs. 
According to a study on unemployment insurance in the year ending March 2020, only 260,000 out of three million jobless people (1.74 million of whom held a job before becoming unemployed) received unemployment benefits. 
That is to say only 8.6% of the total number of unemployed Iranians (15% of those held a job before becoming unemployed) received unemployment benefits, the Persian-language daily Shargh reported, citing the data released by Social Welfare Department of the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare. 
Researchers of the study believe that 8.8 million people or 30% of the total number of Iran’s employed population can potentially receive unemployment benefits.
Ambiguities regarding the wording of the Unemployment Insurance Law of September 1990, which lead to different interpretations and inconsistencies in the implementation of the law, are said to be the main reason behind the limited extension of unemployment benefits in the country. 
In practice, Article 2 of Iran Unemployment Insurance Law and its “reasons other than his or her own fault” part is often given a wide interpretation for temporary contracts.