Reactions to the Labor Minister's Claims; ILNA News Agency: The Minister is Lying; Ham-Mihan Newspaper: The Statistics are Fabricated

The claim by the Minister of Labor in Ebrahim Raisi's government regarding the creation of one million jobs per year has faced varied reactions. The ILNA news agency reported that the statistics provided by the minister are 'false' and noted that the job creation figures are not felt in practice. The Ham-Mihan newspaper emphasized that the administrative statistics from the Ministry of Labor are 'baseless, superficial, and fabricated.' Solat Mortazavi, the Minister of Labor of the Islamic Republic, claimed on August 20 that over 1 million and 970 thousand job opportunities were created in the past two years, which sparked significant reactions. ILNA stated that while the claim of nearly two million jobs being created is made, experts had predicted that, at best, employment would reach a point where previously vacant job capacities would be somewhat filled. This media outlet emphasizes that experts and those familiar with labor relations believe that the community does not feel the job creation statistics published by the highest government authority in labor and social affairs in practice. ILNA, citing a decrease in the economic participation rate in the latest employment statistics, wrote that 'the low economic participation rate effectively questions the reported unemployment rate of below 8.3% for this year.' An economist mentioned that if the Statistical Center confirms the Minister's figures regarding employment increase, it could be accepted, but this is usually not the case. Hadi Haqshenas stressed that 'when the participation rate in the country has decreased, the unemployment rate only declines at the cost of some of the community exiting the labor force.' Haqshenas stated that net employment must be calculated, and until the amount of 'jobs lost in the community during the same time period' is deducted from the claimed employment, these statistics cannot be significant. The Ham-Mihan newspaper also investigated the Minister's claims and wrote that the authority to address this claim lies in the quarterly reports on activity and unemployment provided by the Statistical Center, not in baseless, superficial, and fabricated administrative reports. The report's author considered the definition of employment and the quality of the created jobs to be a matter of debate, stating that whenever an individual is active for a few hours a week and receives a wage, they are considered employed. However, work in a farm or factory and an important service differs from domestic service work or driving for an internet-based transportation service. This report emphasizes that real employment requires serious investments, and a 100% increase in employment in internet taxis only signifies a lack of capacity for sustainable and productive jobs. Ultimately, this newspaper stressed that the government should base its economic focus on attracting investment and productive employment, which also requires the necessary conditions to be in place, foremost among them, resolving issues and reducing external and internal tensions.