Mystery surrounds unemployment in Iran
Tue, 23 Dec 2008 04:42:31 GMT

 
The validity of official statistics on the unemployment rate in Iran has been questioned, despite their confirmation of a 3.3% loss in jobs.

The latest figures released by the Statistical Center of Iran (SCI) put unemployment at 10.2 percent, indicating a 3.3 percent increase compared to the corresponding figure last year.

"The recent drought has led to the unemployment of 400,000 rural women that increased unemployment rate," Fars news agency quoted SCI head Ali Madad as commenting on the loss of jobs on Sunday.

The SCI statistics have been used to suggest that the problem of unemployment is being dealt with inside Iran, as the reported rate for four years ago was put at 12.5 percent.

A report by Tabnak, meanwhile, has criticized the release of the statistics, suggesting that unemployment is skyrocketing in the country.

The number of jobless people amongst the 21.5 million people considered active in the country four years ago, according to the critical report, amounted to 12.5 percent.

Some 25 million Iranians are considered active today –– which, considering the reported unemployment rate of 10.2 percent, would imply that the Ahmadinejad administration has not only been able to keep up with the increase in active population in the past three years but also in reducing unemployment.

Iran has a population of over 70 million people, more than two-thirds of whom are under the age of 30. Up to 750,000 Iranians become part of the active population and seek spots in the job market each year.

According to Tabnak, however, only 250,000 people entering the market per year have able to find jobs in the past three years, indicating that the government has not even the been able to keep up with the increase in the potential workforce.

The report further suggests that the questionable nature of the statistics to be related to Labor Ministry requirements that people with one work hour per week be classified as employed.

The controversy comes after an SCI official warned last month that the unemployment rate in the country could significantly increase in coming years.

Alireza Zahedian, the deputy head of SCI, said that the increasing number of university graduates in Iran would eventually lead to a sharp rise in the potential labor force and hence unemployment in the country.

A Labor Ministry announcement put the number of university graduates without work at 15.6 in October.

The high number of illegal foreign workers –– most of whom are from neighboring Afghanistan –– have also contributed to unemployment in Iran with official figures suggesting that nearly 2 million job positions are occupied by such workers.


http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=79185§ionid=351020102

Try a minimum of 25% unemployed.  Them mullers gonna sacrifice Ah-Mad in the coming year.





5sub

There's a no shit statement !!




5sub