“این عکس یک پسر با چهره خندان در حال بازی با یک توپ است.”

“This photo shows a boy with a smiling face playing with a ball.”
Bahadad Bardbar

Children who were born after the revolution enter their fourth decade of life. Many of them have been waiting for years during their education and military service to be able to enter the business world. Although this generation is more educated than their parents, they still have to wait for years to find a job. Due to unemployment, many of these young people have not been able to get married.

According to statistical studies, “among young men between the ages of twenty and twenty-nine, less than three-quarters have a job and only two-fifths are married, while three-quarters of this population live with their parents. The situation for women is even more severe. Only half of them have a job, three-fifths are married, and almost half of this population still live with their families. These factors have led to social deprivation for this group.”

The problems of the young generation in Iran for entering adulthood, achieving financial independence from their families, finding employment, and obtaining housing are influenced by the population explosion in Iran after the revolution. “The fifty-seventh revolution marked a different phase in the collective behavior of the Iranian population. The new government abandoned family planning policies, the psychological pressure of the necessity of reproduction during war and revolution, and the significant decrease in women’s employment rates all contributed to not only halting the positive trend of population growth, but also causing this indicator to once again rise.” (2)

Governments after the war have not been able to create enough jobs. The number of graduates is higher than the number of jobs created for them. Salman Khodadadi, the head of the social commission of the recent parliament, recently stated that the unemployment rate is between six to ten million.

President Hassan Rouhani’s government has also faced two major economic problems since taking office. High inflation, which was a result of Ahmadinejad’s policies, and youth unemployment.

The Rouhani government intends to help young people by introducing an internship program, although it has faced opposition from labor organizations and the Social Security Organization. Under this program, graduates with a diploma or higher degree will have the opportunity to work in economic enterprises and workshops for a period of four to six months.

What is an internship program?

The Rouhani government has adopted an austerity program to reduce inflation and has cut government current and development expenses. Reducing current expenses and implementing austerity policies cannot be job-creating.

To combat youth unemployment, the government has introduced an internship program. This program aims to provide recent graduates with the necessary skills and experience to prepare them for entering the workforce.

The government has also considered an incentive package for employers. If they hire interns in their relevant unit or business, the government will pay 100% of the employer’s insurance for up to 2 years. This means that employers will be exempt from paying insurance for interns for up to 2 years.

What do the audience say?

Saba is 24 years old and has a degree in architecture. She currently works at a cafe and earns one and a half million. She doesn’t have any hope of finding a job related to her education anytime soon and she needs the income from her job. When I ask her how much income she would need to get married or live independently, she says she would need at least six million to be able to live independently. She believes that the government’s internship program is only suitable for those who can rely on their family’s support. However, Saba believes that this program can help traditional families enter the job market. Many families are against their daughters working in cafes and restaurants, but they allow them to work if it’s in a government institution or factory.

Maryam works for one of the institutions under the supervision of the municipality and with overtime, she can earn a monthly income of one million and two hundred thousand tomans. However, so far, they have not provided her with insurance and retirement benefits. She says if they pay her the same amount of money, which is nine hundred thousand tomans, and provide insurance, it would be acceptable, but with three hundred thousand tomans, I cannot afford to pay for my university tuition.

Nesar is a resident of Sanandaj and says: “There is no work at all in the counties and it is true that three hundred thousand tomans is very little, but it is better than staying at home.”

“Poverty of the unemployed”

The story goes like this: the wealthy become wealthier every day. The number of poor increases and their income decreases, while the middle class continues to shrink. Additionally, the gap between the middle class and the wealthy keeps getting bigger. The difference in family income is a result of differences in wages and capital. The middle class has lost the ability to buy a house, and buying a house has become an unattainable dream for many young and middle-aged people. In some years, the increase in minimum wage has been lower than the inflation rate.

Inequality is not an event, but rather something that has been created over time. Government policies have played a role in the gap between the incomes of the poor and the wealthy. The internship program and payment of one-third of the minimum wage will keep young job seekers in a state of dependence on their families and poverty for a longer period of time. Thousands of university graduates have lost hope of finding a suitable job in their field of study and will welcome the internship program, but employment that cannot meet the basic needs of a group will only lead to the continuation of poverty for this group.

Governments have shifted the cost of workforce education to families by privatizing education. However, the industrial and service sectors can cover the cost of their required workforce through tax payments. The government has even exempted business owners from paying insurance for a period of time through incentive packages, and the cost of intern healthcare will also be covered by families.

After the implementation of this plan, the unemployment rate of educated youth may appear to decrease, but the deprivation and poverty of the educated youth will continue. The youth who have spent years studying at university and then serving in the military, now must offer their labor to employers at the lowest possible cost in order to possibly find a job.

The economy of Iran is in a state of recession and one of the reasons for the market stagnation is the lack of money among the people. The government can revive the economy by increasing wages, but so far the government’s plan has been to provide tax exemptions for capital owners and put pressure on young job seekers. Economic advisors of the government believe that by creating incentive programs for capital owners, they can boost the economy.

Notes:

1. According to Javad Salehi-Isfahani, a professor at Virginia Tech, the situation for young adults in Iran is difficult. For men between the ages of twenty and twenty-nine, less than three out of four have jobs, only two out of five are married, and almost three-quarters still live with their parents. The situation is even worse for young women, with nearly half of them being unemployed and only three out of five being married.

2- Peyvandi, Saeed, The Silent Mass Revolution of Iran, Radio Farda, August 17, 2012