"We Intended to Create Jobs, but did not Work Out"

The erroneous statistics of the Iranian government on job creation and economic growth finally made members of parliament summon the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs. In response to the criticism raised by many members of the Majlis on the "fake statistics that claimed that 1,600,000 jobs had been created last year", he said, " In this respect the intention that exists among the officials of the country, even if some problems persist; we have done our best."

Just two months after Ahmadinejad claimed in his Nowruz new year message in late March that 2.5 million new jobs had been created which uprooted the unemployment problem of the country in three years, a group of factory owners sent him a letter complaining about the unresolved issue of subsidy payments to industrial units. According to them, they had "paid billions of Toman for gas and electricity without receiving any subsidies, the continuation of which would force factories to shut down."

And despite the warning by the minister of labor that no person had the right to fire any worker on the excuse of privatization of industries, analysts have said that companies have been forced to reduce their labor force because of privatization targeting, privatization and rising costs.

According to Fararou website which quotes member of parliament Mohammad-Reza Khabbaz, "Many factories and industries with special affiliations have in recent years been handed over to a handful individuals who have absolutely no knowledge in running a plant, resulting in shut downs, dismissals and unemployment, thus negating the government’s promise of creating 2.5 million new jobs and instead in fact enlarging the unemployment force causing more social problems in the country. This can only be changed if the government’s macro policies are modified eventually reducing the rate of unemployment.”

Another protesting Majlis representative from Shiraz, Ghaderi, echoed the same sentiment when he said at yesterday’s parliamentary session, "In 2004 the government was able to create only six hundred thousand new jobs despite enjoying an economic growth rate of seven percent. Now with a growth rate below three percent it is questionable how the government can create two and a half million new jobs?"

But in response to this criticism, the head of Iran’s statistical center who had announced his readiness to respond to the MPs said, “The unemployment rate has decreased by two percent in the Spring of 2011 compared with the same season last year".

Ahmad Tavakoli, another MP critical of the government, said, " Between the years 2000 and 2004, 580,000 new jobs were created with an average growth rate of 6.36. In the year 2010 while the government refused to publish the growth rate, the International Monetary Fund put Iran's growth rate about one percent. If that is true, it will be impossible to create one million and one hundred thousand new jobs."

Source: Rooz Online