![\"1396072914044941012283074\"](\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/02\/1396072914044941012283074.jpg\" "\\"1396072914044941012283074\\"")
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NCRI Staff<\/p>\n
NCRI –\u00a0At its starting point, Iran\u2019s recent uprising kicked off on December 28, 2017, with such slogans like \u2018Death to high prices\u2019 and \u2018Death to unemployment\u2019 and quickly turned into \u201cDeath to the Dictator and Death to Khamenei\u201d and the request for \u201c Regime Change\u201d as the one and only solution to all the problems.<\/p>\n
Concerning the economic aspect of the protests it is notable that the dimensions and depth of the country\u2019s unemployment has grown so much that there are lots of graduates who despite their high level of expertise are involved in such irrelevant jobs like laboring and working as an errand boy in shops, which is even more astonishing — and of course more heart-rending — than the country\u2019s unemployment problem itself.<\/p>\n
In this regard, a new report on unemployment, its dimensions and different types was recently aired on state TV that is worth mentioning here.<\/p>\n
In the report, the TV presenter interviews workers who despite holding bachelor\u2019s or doctorate degrees — and in some cases even with national and international scientific Olympiad medals under their belt — have to work as construction workers, guards or doormen as there\u2019s no job relevant to their fields of study and they know no one to pull some strings for them, either.<\/p>\n
300 applicants with university degrees responded to a state TV employment ad. The report airs phone conversations with some of the applicants as well as an in-person interview with a young, male job seeker. In the interview, the young applicant is informed that he can only be offered a dish-washing job, and is asked if he\u2019s willing to take that job. After a little bit of hesitation, the young man with a Master\u2019s degree gives a positive answer. He even doesn\u2019t hold back when he finds out that he\u2019s been filmed. Instead, he first protests a little and then asks the correspondent if he can arrange his employment somewhere.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve taken part in entrance exams of ministries, embassies, and state broadcasting organization, but I couldn\u2019t get hired since I knew no one to pull some strings for me\u201d, says the young applicant. The correspondent then agrees with the applicant\u2019s request.<\/p>\n
The country\u2019s real unemployment figure is unknown<\/strong><\/p>\n In a report titled \u201cThree million Iranians are unemployed: the result of disregard for the production cycle!\u201d state-run Kayhan newspaper writes on September 23, 2017 \u201cUnemployment figure among the country\u2019s working age population (ten years old and higher) has risen from 3,203, 398 in February 2017 to 3,366,973 in May same year.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere are five to six million unemployed people in the country\u201d, writes state-run Javan newspaper on July 24, 2017.<\/p>\n Also state-run Abrar newspaper on July 26, 2017, quotes a mullahs\u2019 regime MP as saying \u201cthe number of country\u2019s unemployed is bigger than the official figures.\u201d<\/p>\n State-run Resalat newspaper on August 29, 2017, quotes regime\u2019s economist \u2018Ebrahim Razaghi\u2019 as saying \u201c15 million Iranians are unemployed.\u201d<\/p>\n When it comes to women, unemployment rate doubles<\/strong><\/p>\n State-run Shargh newspaper writes on May 9, 2017 \u201cRouhani caused 860 thousand women to go out of work in eight years.\u201d<\/p>\n Another state-run newspaper \u2018Saye-Rouz\u2019 quotes Labor Minister on September 3, 2017, as saying \u201cunemployment rate among women has risen fivefold in the past 20 years.\u201d<\/p>\n Destruction of industry due to excessive imports<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the most important reasons behind Iran\u2019s high unemployment rate is rooted in regime\u2019s anti-national policy of excessive imports which has cost the country\u2019s industry and agriculture.<\/p>\n According to state-run Kayhan newspaper on May 12, 2017, \u201cwith closure of at least 30 of the country\u2019s most important brands and factories — including Arj, Darougar, Azmayesh, Pars Electric, Esfahan\u2019s Polyacryl, Irana Tiles, Tabriz Machine Manufacturing, Istak, Isaac Bicycle Manufacturing, Varamin\u2019s Sugar Cubes, Ghou Vegetable Oil, Ray\u2019s Chiffon Fabrics, and Iran Wood — one million workers have gone out of work in four years.\u201d<\/p>\n In the meantime, 60 percent of the country\u2019s factories are closed and the remaining 40 percent are operating with 30 percent of their capacity in the past four years. This on one hand and laying off 20 to 25 percent of semi-closed factories\u2019 workforce on the other have joined hands to double the problems and hardships of workers\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n Unemployed graduates<\/strong><\/p>\n State-run Iran newspaper on April 1, 2017, quoted regime\u2019s then presidential candidate as saying \u201cthe unemployment rate among the country\u2019s graduates is 40 percent.\u201d<\/p>\n The process of putting people out of work and destroying national production under the ruling regime is not going to stop.<\/p>\n As state-run Vatan-e-Emrouz newspaper writes on April 1, 2017, \u201cthe number of country\u2019s unemployed people is added by 150 every hour. This amounts to 3600 more unemployed each day, 25200 each week, and 108 thousands each month. In other words, one million 300 thousand is added to the country\u2019s unemployment number each year.\u201d<\/p>\n As part of regime\u2019s economic nature, the \u2018unemployment-raising process\u2019 has by itself turned into one of the driving forces of people\u2019s uprising.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NCRI Staff NCRI – At its starting point, Iran’s recent uprising kicked off on December 28, 2017, with such slogans like ‘Death to high prices’ and ‘Death to unemployment’ and quickly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[178],"class_list":{"0":"post-24295","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-iran-protests","7":"tag-save"},"yoast_head":"\n