Azerbaijan, Baku, May 12/ Trend F.Milad/
The unemployment rate in Iran stood at 12.3 percent last calendar year, which ended on March 19, showing 1.2 percent fall compared to the previous year, the Iranian Statistical Center reported.
The IRNA News Agency quoted the report as saying that the number of jobless individuals has reduced to 2.8 million from 3.2 million year on year.
Some $200 billion should be invested to create one million jobs annually to keep the current unemployment rate steady, Iranian vice Majlis speaker said.
"In the most optimistic case, all the money which can be allocated to job creation does not exceed $80 billion. So, the country is facing $120 billion deficit to create one million jobs annually," Mohammad-Reza Bahonar told the ILNA news agency in February.
Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare Minister Abdolreza Sheikholeslami said that the country plans to cut its unemployment rate to seven percent by the end of 2012 in line with the fifth socio-economic development plan (2010-2015).
The ministry has proposed a plan for sending up to 100,000 laborers to abroad by 2015 in a bid to ease unemployment.
Eighteen countries have been determined as the targets for the Iranian workforce.