8 Provinces Filed Double-Digit Unemployment in FY 2022-23

Eight provinces, namely Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari (10.4%), Isfahan (10.7%), Sistan-Baluchestan (11.7%), Khuzestan (12.6%), Lorestan (12.7%), Kurdestan (13.7%), Kermanshah (14.2%) and Hormozgan (15.3%), registered a double-digit unemployment rate for people of ages 15 and above in the fiscal 2022-23, according to the Statistical Center of Iran.
Semnan Province saw the lowest rate of 6.4% while Hormozgan registered the highest unemployment rate of 15.3%.  
Iran’s overall unemployment rate stood at 9% in the last Iranian year (ended March 20, 2023), indicating a 0.2% decrease compared with the previous year.
A total of 2.34 million Iranians were unemployed in the fiscal 2022-23. 
Men’s unemployment stood at 7.7% while the rate for women hovered around 15.8%. 
Over 1.66 million men and 685,780 women of ages 15 and above were jobless in the fiscal 2022-23.   
The unemployment rate was 9.7% for urban areas (1.93 million people) and 6.7% for rural areas (415,458 people).
Zanjan Province had the highest labor force participation rate (49%) and Ilam had the lowest labor force participation rate (32.5%). Tehran registered a labor participation rate of 40.4% in the fiscal 2022-23.
SCI put last Iranian year’s overall labor force participation rate — the proportion of the population of ages 15 and above that is economically active either employed or looking for a job — at 40.9% or 26.06 million people, registering unchanged compared with the year before. 
Men’s and women’s economic participation rates were 68.7% and 13.6% respectively.
A total of 21.72 million men and 4.33 million women of ages 15 and above were economically active in the fiscal 2022-23, i.e., they were either employed or looking for a job.
Zanjan also registered the highest employment rate of 45.7% while Ilam filed the lowest employment rate of 30.2% among all Iranian provinces. Tehran’s employment rate stood at 37.4%. 
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 total employment rate was 37.2% (23.71 million) in the fiscal 2022-23, unchanged compared with the year before. Employment rates for men and women were 63% and 11.4%, respectively, which constituted 20.06 million men and 3.65 million women in the year under review. 
Employment rate was 36.4% (17.94 million people) in urban areas and 39.9% (5.77 million) in rural areas. 
The share of employment of university graduates stood at 26.7% of the total employed population, wherein male and female graduate employment rates were 23% and 47.5%, respectively. In urban and rural areas, graduate employment rates stood at 32.5% and 8.8% of the total number of job-holders, respectively. 
Last year’s statistics show that 38% of the country’s labor force worked more than 49 hours per week, indicating a 0.2% increase compared with the year before.