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According to the CIA Factbook,
Iran's government has reported that 15% of the
country is currently unemployed. Many people believe
the number is much higher -- up to 30% -- and that
unemployment is the greatest crisis in Iran today
contributing to high poverty levels and social ills.
Among the reasons
for the staggering unemployment numbers:
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After the 1979 Revolution and
during the eight-year war between Iran and Iraq
(1980-1988) the new Islamic government aimed to
create a 20-million strong army of Islamic
revolutionaries by encouraging the population to
procreate. The result: 3.9% population growth
between 1979 and 1988. Today, the baby-boomers
are in their 20s, out of school, and looking for
work.
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For the last few years, Iran has
had to absorb more than 2 million refugees and
workers coming from Afghanistan, Pakistan and
Iraq. Since the immigrants accept lower wages
than the locals and are willing to work under
dangerous or uncomfortable conditions, they are
squeezing out low-wage Iranian workers.
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Many young Iranians are choosing
to attend tuition-free college in order to
postpone job searching by a few years. But the
colleges are not adequately preparing graduates
for the jobs that need to be filled. Graduates
in the fields of humanities and Islamic studies,
for example, far outpace those in the social
sciences, commerce and business administration.
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Iran's economic growth isn't
rising fast enough to accommodate all the new job
seekers.
Possible
consequences:
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An increase in social problems
including suicide, drug use, prostitution,
theft, divorce rates, depression etc.
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Brain-drain: it's estimated that
100,000 - 225,000 professionals emigrate from
Iran every year in search of better job
opportunities.
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Political threat: Unemployed
youth undoubtedly blame the regime for the
current situation. Frustrated from being told
that no jobs await them after years of
education, disaffected Iranians are likely to
contribute to political instability by staging
demonstrations, riots or even turning to
terrorism.
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