Changes in the structure of Iranian households have led to improvement in labor force participation, says the head of Economic Development and Research Institute of Tehran University. According to Teymour Rahmani, as the average number of people in households falls and the median age of marriage rises, more and more people, particularly women, are likely to participate in the labor market. “It can also be said that the negative attitude toward women’s employment has changed even in small towns,” he was quoted as saying by Tejarat-e Farda economic weekly. According to the latest figures released by the Statistical Center of Iran, last year’s labor force participation rate – i.e. proportion of the population 10 years old and above that is economically active – stood at 38.2%, indicating a 1% rise compared to the previous year. The rate for men and women was 63.2% and 13.3% respectively.
