Iran to create 2.5mn jobs in 2011-12

Iran’s Minister of Labor and Social Affairs calls on high-level labor organizations to assist the government in its plan to create 2.5 million new jobs this year.

“High-level labor and employer associations must place job creation on their permanent agenda; and as our social [affairs] partners, they must create specialized committees that can aid the labor ministry in this regard,” Abdolreza Sheikholeslami was quoted by Mehr News as saying on Sunday.

According to the minister, government-plans to create 2.5 million new employment opportunities in the current Iranian calendar year (beginning March 21) is a feasible target given the fact that 1.6 million new jobs were successfully created in the country last year.

He said the country’s labor associations were the key to realizing national employment targets and expressed hope that future cooperation between the associations and the government will be more creative and fruitful.

In February, the ministry announced plans to reduce the country’s unemployment rate to seven percent by the end of 2012, in line with the Fifth Socio-Economic Development Plan (2010-2015).

Iran’s Fifth Five-Year Economic Development Plan is part of the 20-Year Outlook Plan (2005-2025), which is the country’s main blueprint for long-term sustainable growth.