Azerbaijan, Baku, May 22/Trend M. Moezzi
A new agreement between Iran and China will employ Chinese workers to build the newTehran-Caspian freeway.
Economist Ali Ghanbari said the decision was one rooted in political considerations, the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA) reports.
Unofficial figures estimate Iran's unemployment rate to be between 20 to 40 per cent, and the issue of jobs going to foreign nationals is a sensitive one. As recently as Monday, an official from the Tehran Province's Association of Career Counselling Centres claimed that the income earned by Iran's three million Afghan labourers is equal to Afghanistan's annual budget.
Economic growth in Iran and the jobs it would bring has slowed and is heading towards negative numbers. The country's subsidy reform programme, the surging inflation rate and heavier sanctions have all put greater pressure put on Iran's economy. The 36 per cent increase in production costs in one year in itself illustrates how difficult conditions have become for Iran's manufacturers, said Mr. Ghanbari.
Greater production costs and the lack of government support have led to closures and layoffs in Iran.