Toughening up: Iran restricts employment of foreigners

Iranian First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri issued a communiqué on Monday, according to which all government and non-government organizations are banned from employing foreign nationals without a valid work permits.
In line with the administration’s policy to support domestic producers, boost job creation, and resolve the unemployment crisis, it is obligatory for all government and non-government organizations, as well as their subsidiaries, to recruit only from the Iranian workers or foreign nationals who hold valid work permit, the communiqué reads.

On April 20, Jahangiri said that Iran’s unemployment rate had reached a critical level.

He cited unemployment as the main challenge facing the current administration, adding that the problem can only be resolved through boosting the economy and attracting more investment.

On July 14, the administration of President Hassan Rouhani unveiled a package of plans to support the leading domestic economic enterprises, boost industrial and service exports, and promote tourism, which had been identified as the initial factors necessary for helping to bring the national economy out of recession.

The Statistical Center of Iran has announced that the average unemployment rate for the past Iranian calendar year, which ended on March 20, 2014, hit 10.4 percent.

Iran must create 8.5 million new jobs in the next two years, Iranian Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Ali Tayyebnia said last November.

SyndiGate.info