Single-Digit Unemployment Rate for 7 Provinces

Seven provinces, namely Markazi Province (6.7%), West Azarbaijan (7.5%), Hamedan (8%), Semnan (8.1%), Zanjan (8.2%), North Khorasan (9.7%) and Gilan (9.9%), registered single-digit unemployment rates in the second quarter of the current Iranian year (June 21-Sept. 21, 2016).

Tehran Province, wherein lies the capital city, registered a 13.3% unemployment rate, according to the Statistical Center of Iran’s latest report.

Kermanshah Province filed the highest unemployment rate of 20.3% among all Iranian provinces.

The SCI put Iran’s unemployment rate in summer at 12.7%. The figure registers a 1.8% increase compared with last summer and a 0.5% rise compared with the previous quarter (March 20-June 20, 2016).

The new data show 3.33 million Iranians were unemployed in Q2. It also shows 10.4% of men and 21.8% of women of ages 10 and above were jobless during the period.

According to SCI, the unemployment rate was 14.4% for urban areas and 7.9% for rural areas. Joblessness was higher among women compared to men and among those living in urban areas.

The youth unemployment rate, i.e. the proportion of the population between the ages of 15 and 29, stood at 26.7% in summer, registering a 3.3% rise compared with the same period of last year and a 1.8% increase over last quarter.

SCI has put Q2 labor force participation rate—the proportion of the population of ages 10 years and above that is economically active either employed or looking for work—at 40.4% or 26.36 million people.

The figure shows a 1.5% rise compared with the corresponding period of the previous year and a 0.9% growth over the last quarter.

Men’s and women’s economic participation rates were 64.9% and 15.9% respectively. The rate was 39.8% for urban areas and 42.2% for rural areas.

Zanjan and Sistan-Baluchestan provinces had the highest and lowest labor force participation rates of 45.1% and 32.9% respectively, whereas Tehran registered a 41.2% participation rate in the period.  

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.

The services sector employed 49.1% of the Iranian population, whereas industrial and agricultural sectors provided 31.5% and 19.4% of the population with jobs respectively.

The services sector consists of wholesale and retail trade; restaurants and hotels; transport, storage and communications; financing, insurance, real estate and business services; as well as community, social, education, health and personal services.