Labor Force Participation Rate at 40.9% in Fiscal 2021-22: SCI

The Statistical Center of Iran has 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 fiscal 2021-22, registering a 0.4% year-on-year decline. 
Men’s and women’s economic participation rates were 68.7% and 13.3% respectively in the same period.
A total of 21.64 million men and 4.18 million women of ages 15 and above were economically active in the fiscal 2021-22, i.e., they were either employed or looking for a job.
The total fiscal 2021-22 employment rate was 37.2% (23.45 million), down 0.1% compared with the previous Iranian year. Employment rates for men and women were 63.3% and 11.1%, respectively, which constituted 19.93 million men and 35.15 million women in the fiscal 2021-22. 
The employment rate was 36.3% (17.6 million people) in urban areas and 40.2% (5.85 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 46.4%, respectively. 
In urban and rural areas, graduate employment rates stood at 31.5% and 8.7% of the total number of job-holders, respectively. 
Statistics of fiscal 2021-22 show that 37.8% of the country’s labor force worked more than 49 hours per week, indicating a 1.3% increase YOY. 
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.