Iran’s labor market cracking under layoffs and inflation
Iranians described layoffs, unpaid wages and rising food and medical costs in messages to Iran International, while labor market data and local media reports pointed to a widening employment shock after the ceasefire.
“We do not know how we can go on with these prices. Yesterday I bought two sausages. It cost 1 million rials,” one viewer told Iran International, an amount equal to about 60 cents.
The strain is deepening as Iran’s minimum wage has fallen below $90 and the rial continues to lose value, hitting a new low this week.
Iranians described layoffs, unpaid wages and rising food and medical costs in messages to Iran International, while labor market data and local media reports pointed to a widening employment shock after the ceasefire.
“We do not know how we can go on with these prices. Yesterday I bought two sausages. It cost 1 million rials,” one viewer told Iran International, an amount equal to about 60 cents.
The strain is deepening as Iran’s minimum wage has fallen below $90 and the rial continues to lose value, hitting a new low this week.
Another message said workers at a glass factory had still not received their March wages and that supplementary insurance had been cut.
Several citizens linked the deterioration to factory closures after the ceasefire, shortages of raw materials and rising rents.
“Since the ceasefire, most factories have shut down, especially in industrial estates. Everyone has become unemployed because of shortages of raw materials. Daily goods have become more expensive, deposits and rents have gone up, and medical and drug costs have soared,” one message said.
Shargh daily reported that new registrations on the home-services platform Achareh rose sharply in late April compared with the same period last year, especially in lower-barrier work such as cleaning and catering.
Registrations for cleaning and catering rose 239 percent from April 21 to May 2, while electrical work rose 220 percent, plumbing 176 percent, cooling services 150 percent, and building maintenance 140 percent, according to figures provided to Shargh.
File photo: Construction workers take a break at a site in Iran
Bahman Emam, the platform’s chief executive and co-founder, told Shargh that overall job registrations had risen 30 percent.
“We witnessed widespread layoffs this year, and it seems a significant share of applicants are seeking a first job,” Emam said.
Shargh also reported that some workers who had left the platform for traditional markets were seeking to return, while others who could no longer afford life in Tehran asked to activate their profiles in other cities.
Experts warn shock may endure
Ashkan Nezamabadi, an economic journalist in Berlin, told Iran International that Iran’s labor market had entered a dangerous phase.
“Only one of the two main job platforms in Iran announced a few days ago that it had 318,000 new job applications in one day, which was a new record,” Nezamabadi said.
He said new job opportunities had fallen by about 80 percent, while economic losses and internet disruptions added to the strain.
“These changes clearly show something is breaking in the labor market,” he said.
Government plans to issue loans worth 220 million rials (around $120) per worker were unlikely to prevent layoffs or create durable jobs, according to Nezamabadi.
He said assistance would be more effective if directed toward consumers to preserve demand, contrasting it with pandemic-era support programs in Europe and the United States.
Iran’s Labor News Agency (ILNA) reported that the cost of a basic household livelihood basket had reached 713 million rials (about $385), up from 450 million rials (about $240) used in wage talks earlier this year.
Faramarz Tofighi, a labor activist who calculates livelihood costs, told ILNA that even the earlier estimate was not realistic and that wages did not reach 60 percent of it.
“That same unrealistic 450 million rial basket has today reached 713 million rials,” Tofighi said.
ILNA said the minimum wage including benefits had fallen to about $88 after the rial’s decline, leaving workers unable to cover rent and food.
Workers cited in the report said they were struggling to buy even bread and eggs, with meat and rice removed from many household shopping lists.
File photo: Seasonal workers wait for daily jobs in Tehran
Political fallout grows
Milad Rasaei-Manesh, a political activist based in Stockholm, linked the downturn to broader structural issues.
“Today the economy is effectively destroyed, and the war and policies pursued have led to widespread unemployment and deeper poverty,” Rasaei-Manesh told Iran International.
He said internet restrictions had compounded the crisis by cutting off income sources.
“Internet shutdowns have directly caused job losses and pushed more people into poverty,” he said.
He said economic pressures could drive coordinated protest action. "If workers organize through strikes and collective action, they can accelerate change,” he added.
The mounting evidence points to a labor market squeezed from both ends: more people seeking work, and fewer households able to pay for services.
Authorities seized the assets of 22 people in Iran’s north-central province of Semnan on Tuesday over accusations of links to hostile foreign states, judiciary-affiliated Mizan News reported.
Those targeted were accused of ties to Israel and other adversary countries and of acting against national security, according to the report.
Authorities said all assets, bank accounts and financial activities of the individuals had been identified and frozen.
An Iranian lawmaker said on Tuesday that Tehran would respond to the United States within a short time, possibly by Wednesday or Thursday.
Manouchehr Mottaki, a Tehran member of parliament, said Iran’s response would come “by tomorrow or the day after tomorrow,” without giving further details.
He also said that US President Donald Trump had been “cornered” and that the Pentagon was reviewing another attack on the Islamic Republic.
Counter Terrorism Policing London is investigating an arson attack at a former synagogue in east London, police said.
Officers were called early on Tuesday after a fire at a building in Tower Hamlets. Damage was limited to a gate and lock, and no injuries were reported.
Police said initial CCTV indicated the fire was started deliberately and are treating the case as arson. No arrests have been made.
“This incident follows a number of arsons and attempted arsons targeting Jewish Londoners,” said Helen Flanagan, adding investigators are examining possible links.
Authorities said patrols would increase in the area as inquiries continue.
Iranian security forces arrested a doctor and an anesthesia nurse from a hospital in Najafabad, in central Iran, on Saturday on security-related charges, Iran International has learned.
The arrests of Dr. Pedram Hadipour and nurse Sobhan Nourian took place at the Montazeri Hospital in Najafabad. The specific nature of the security charges against the medical professionals was not immediately disclosed.
The arrests follow the circulation of graphic footage from the same hospital following protests on Jan. 8 and 9. Those images showed the bloodied bodies of dozens of casualties in various sections of the medical facility.
