The recent announcement of a rise in the unemployment rate can be justified by the seasonal slump in agricultural activities in autumn, a top official says. Confirming the authenticity of the 10.5 percent unemployment rate published by the statistical center of Iran (SCI), Ali Rabiee, the minister of cooperatives, labor, and social welfare, said the one percent rise compared to summer is the result of decreased farming and agricultural activities in autumn, IRNA reported on Sunday. The SCI data has always been a valid reference for the labor ministry, he underlined. Thanks to the initiatives of the incumbent administration, job seekers are currently more hopeful about finding their desirable jobs, the minister said. The government counts on small businesses as the main source of jobs, he added. Today’s unemployment situation can be traced back to 2005 and 2012, when the country faced a negative 56 percent growth rate, Rabiee said. The ministry of labor has prepared a new plan to help improve the employment market by developing a job data system, employing foreign nationals and sending Iranian jobseekers abroad.
