The share of higher education unemployment from the total unemployed population in Iran was at 40.9% in the second quarter of the current Iranian year (June 22-Sept. 22), registering a year-on-year increase of 0.3%, according to the Statistical Center of Iran.
The unemployment rate for university graduates stood at 13.2% in Q2, posting a 1.2% decrease.
Higher education unemployment rate for men stood at 8.8% and that of women reached 23.2%.
The unemployment shares of male and female graduates from the total unemployed population stood at 27.9% and 68.7%, respectively.
The share of higher education unemployment from the total unemployed population was 43.7% in urban areas and 28.4% in rural areas during the period.
SCI also reports on the rate of employment, 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.
The share of employment of university graduates stood at 26.5% of the total employed population, wherein male and female graduate employment rates were 22.8% and 47.1%, respectively. In urban and rural areas, graduate employment rates stood at 32.2% and 8.8% of the total number of job-holders, respectively.
Iran’s overall unemployment rate, the proportion of the jobless population of ages 15 and above, stood at 8.9% in Q2, indicating a 0.7% year-on-year decrease.
A total of 2.33 million Iranians were unemployed in Q2. Men’s unemployment stood at 7.3% while the rate for women hovered around 17.2%.
Over 1.58 million men and 748,336 women of ages 15 and above were jobless in Q2.
The unemployment rate was 9.6% for urban areas (1.91 million people) and 6.8% for rural areas (422,734 people).
The overall Q2 employment rate was 37.3% (23.77 million), up 0.1% compared with the same quarter of the last Iranian year. Employment rates for men and women were 63.4% and 11.3%, respectively, which constituted 20.17 million men and 36.06 million women in Q2.
The employment rate was 36.5% (17.96 million people) in urban areas and 40.1% (5.81 million) in rural areas.
Q2 statistics show that 39.6% of the country’s labor force worked more than 49 hours per week, indicating a 1% increase over the same period of last year.
A Voice That Must Be Heard
Iran’s development has not been proportional to the development of higher education, resulting in youth disappointment and a decline in the number of university students, Hossein Haqgou, an economic analyst, wrote for Persian-language daily Ta’adol in an article.
“The total number of university students in the fiscal 2020-21 was 3.2 million compared with 4.8 million in 2014-15, indicating a decline of 1.5 million over six years,” he said.
The decline in the number of students and educational desire over the past decade has coincided with the country’s economic decay, as the decade saw zero economic growth and investment, as well as an inflation of above 40%.
“Given the economic tenor in the country, job creation, particularly in manufacturing sectors, has become increasingly elusive. The absence of ties with the world as a result of political tensions has made the transfer of technical knowhow needed for improving industrial activities of university graduates more difficult. The fall in the added value of manufacturing sector has resulted in the decrease in the number of applicants for majors in mathematics and physics,” the analyst added.
Noting that job prospects in the industrial sector are dim for graduates, Haqgou said they can’t land a suitable job when they finish their studies.
“The country has been entangled in a vicious circle: On the one hand, efficient labor force for achieving economic growth based on industrial growth is not being trained; on the other hand, lack of educated labor force has resulted in the decline in economic growth and development,” he said.
He opined that at present, the main challenge facing the economy is the creation of job for the huge number of people with university degrees rather than creating jobs for individuals with low levels of literacy.
“This won’t come about, unless the country achieves high and sustainable economic growth via large and targeted investment [in turn, this requirement depends on allaying uncertainties in macroeconomic variables, improving foreign interactions and boosting social capital]. Does the government notice the needs of our educated young adults? Does the government hear their voice? Just take a look at social networks to learn that the despair of young people is getting bigger by the day; they have to do jobs different from their majors and knowledge, or attempt to leave their native country.”
Haqgou concluded that the confrontation between education and career won’t be limited to the economy; it will create crises that might astonish the society and politicians.
