Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 1
By Farhad Daneshvar – Trend:
Interest for putting investment in various sectors of Iran’s economy has surged since the Islamic Republic and the world’s major powers reached a historic nuclear deal last year and here are some bullet points that investors need to know about Iran’s job market.
A glance at Iran’s economy, job market:
- Iran’s GDP growth for the current fiscal year, which started on March 21, is expected to reach 4.5 percent, however the economic growth will decrease in 2017 to 4.1 percent. The figure is expected to hit 4.3 percent in 2021.
- While Iran’s unemployment rate during the spring (March 20-June 21) stood at 12.2 percent, about 22.6 million of Iranians above 10 years old were employed in the mentioned three-month period. The figure is 742,882 more compared to the spring of 2015.
- A group of employers offer higher salaries in a bid to keep and attract skilled workers.
- Meanwhile a group of job seekers and employees tend to agree with the lowest level of salaries in order to keep their jobs or find a job.
- A number of workers annually leave their jobs to find better vacancies, but not all of them manage to hunt down a job.
- Most of employers consider the norm salaries as a factor in offering wages.
- Employees argue that the salaries must be defined according to living costs and inflation rates.
Pay gap between managers and administrative personnel:
- Managers receive the highest and administrative personnel receive the lowest salaries.
- In the capital city of Tehran, managers in average receive about $1,700 (55 million rials according to official rate on Nov. 1) per month.
- In the same city, administrative personnel receive $300 (10 million rials), leaving a gap of $1,400 (45 million rials) between managers and administrative personnel.
The highest paid jobs:
- Oil and gas engineering as well as economy graduates in average earn about $600 (20 million rials) per month, ranking the first among others.
- Industrial, mechanical and electrical engineers have the second highest paid jobs receiving $470 (15 million rials).
Factors that affect the pay:
- Employees with master’s degrees receive 15 percent more than those with bachelor’s degrees.
- Graduates of state universities are paid 16 percent more than the graduates of Islamic Azad University of Iran, the largest non-state university in Iran.
- Graduates with English language skills earn 16 percent more than the others.
- There is a gender pay gap in the country, as females are paid 23 percent less than males with similar criteria.
Reports from IMF’s World Economic Outlook (WEO), Iranian Statistical Center, IranTalent, a leading Iranian job service website, contributed to this article.
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Farhad Daneshvar is Trend Agency's staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @Farhad_Danesh