Up to 7 million people are unemployed in Iran of which four million lack the skills and training to be employed in any profession, according to deputy minister of cooperatives, labor and social welfare, Hojjatollah Mirzayi. According to data from the Statistical Center of Iran, unemployment rate in the previous fiscal year (ended in March) stood at 11%, registering a 0.4% rise compared to the preceding year. The data also shows that 9.3% of men and 19.4% of women aged 10 and above were jobless in that year. The unemployment rate was 12% in urban areas and 8.1% for rural regions. Iran is grappling with a major unemployment problem as the government struggles, apparently with little success, to create work for the millions of people on the dole queue.
