The Statistical Center of Iran put labor force participation rate — the proportion of the population of ages 15 and above that is economically active either employed or looking for a job — at 40.9% or 2.58 million people in the third quarter of the current Iranian year (Sept. 23-Dec. 21), registering a 0.5% year-on-year decrease.
Economic participation rates for men and women were 68.7% and 13.1% respectively in the same period.
A total of 21.69 million men and 4.14 million women of ages 15 and above were economically active in Q3, i.e., they were either employed or looking for a job.
According to SCI, Iran’s unemployment rate, the proportion of the jobless population of ages 15 and above, stood at 8.9% in Q3, indicating a 0.5% decline compared with the same period of last year.
A total of 2.3 million Iranians were unemployed in Q3. Men’s unemployment stood at 7.6% while the rate for women hovered around 15.7%.
Over 1.6 million men and 653,168 women of ages 15 and above were jobless in Q3.
The unemployment rate was 9.6% for urban areas (1.87 million people) and 6.8% for rural areas (425,122 people).
The center provides two figures for the youth unemployment rate: the proportion of the population between 15 and 24 years and those between 18 and 35 years.
The youth unemployment rate of those between 15 and 24 years stood at 23.6% in Q3, posting a 0.1% decrease while the unemployment rate of those between 18 and 35 years stood at 16.1%, posting a decline of 0.4% YOY.
The share of higher education unemployment from the total unemployed population was 42.3% in Q2, which indicates an increase of 2.1% year-on-year.
The unemployment shares of male and female graduates from the total unemployed population stood at 22.2% and 46.5%, respectively, while the share of higher education unemployment from the total unemployed population was 46.1% in urban areas and 25.5% in rural areas during the period.
The total Q3 employment rate was 37.3% (23.4 million), down 0.2% compared with the same quarter of the last Iranian year. Employment rates for men and women were 63.5% and 11.1%, respectively, which constituted 20 million men and 3.5 million women in Q3.
Employment rate was 36.5% (17.72 million people) in urban areas and 40% (5.81 million) in rural areas.
The share of employment of university graduates stood at 25.8% of the total employed population, wherein male and female graduate employment rates were 22.2% and 46.5%, respectively. In urban and rural areas, graduate employment rates stood at 31.5% and 8.7% of the total number of job-holders, respectively.
Employment refers to 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.
Q3 statistics show that 37.4% of the country’s labor force worked more than 49 hours per week, indicating a 0.5% increase over the same period of last year.
