Which Employment Criteria Reflects the Reality of the Labor Market?

According to responsible officials in the country, the three main strategic challenges currently facing the nation are unemployment, the environment, and access to water. There is a relationship among these three strategic challenges, as all three problems stem from the improper distribution of the country's resources and their waste in the form of rent to power institutions and political influence networks. However, unemployment is a challenge where the country's management institutions do not agree on concepts related to it, including its definition and measurement. Until 2004, an 'unemployed person' in Iran was defined as someone who had a job for two days a week. From that year onward, during the eighth government, the definition of the unemployment rate changed. According to the new definition that became common, anyone who works at least one hour a week is considered employed. Although the Statistical Center of Iran has stated that the change in the unemployment rate during the eighth government was aimed at aligning the country's unemployment statistics with the standards of the International Labor Organization, the former head of the Statistical Center of Iran responded to criticisms regarding the change in the method of calculating the unemployment rate and the inclusion of individuals such as 'soldiers', 'students', and 'pupils' as employed, stating: 'The fact that we consider soldiers and students as part of the employed in calculating the unemployment rate is based on the definitions of the International Labor Organization.' However, many believe that this change in the definition of unemployment has concealed the actual unemployment rate and has been implemented within the framework of the government's policy to show a lower unemployment rate in the country. 'Oliya Alibeygi', Iran's representative at the International Labor Organization, criticized the one-hour work criterion for defining an employed person, saying: 'According to the definition of the International Labor Organization, one hour of work per week is considered employed, but the reality is that we must decide on the basis of measurement and extraction of statistics by looking at the realities of our society.' This official then asks, 'Can a person working one hour a week meet their minimum needs?' In this context, the head of the Supreme Council of Islamic Labor Unions of Iran considers the one-hour work criterion for employment as a form of self-deception, stating: 'The calculation of the unemployment rate does not belong to a specific government, and unfortunately, in various governments, the statistics of the employed have been presented with this same method, but we are not supposed to fabricate statistics; rather, we should present statistics based on realities.' Another question raised is that if, according to Article 87 of the Law on Management of Public Services and Social Security in Iran, every employed person must work 44 hours a week, how can one hour of work be considered a criterion for employment? Therefore, there is a contradiction between the concept of employment from a legal and economic perspective on one hand and the statistical measurement of employment on the other. From a legal and economic perspective, working 44 hours a week is a condition for receiving full wages and at least meeting the living needs of the employed person. However, such a reality is ignored within the framework of statistical measurement of employment based on one hour of work per week. Different standards for defining employed and unemployed individuals exist in various countries. Although economic researchers largely agree on the definitions of employed and unemployed individuals, officials in different countries use various criteria for measuring employment and unemployment based on economic goals and specific conditions of each country or economic region. Accordingly, employment is divided into permanent full-time employment, part-time employment, and temporary employment, or multiple criteria are used for measuring employment and unemployment. Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, defines an unemployed person as someone aged between 15 and 74 (the age of economic participation) who does not have a job, has been seeking employment in the last four weeks, and is ready to accept work. In this context, soldiers on duty are not considered part of the employed. The measurement of employment and unemployment in the United States and Canada is somewhat similar, defining an unemployed person as a civilian who is healthy enough to work, is over 16 years old, and has performed at least one hour of work per week at the time of the survey. Nevertheless, according to the classification of these countries, the employed and unemployed are categorized into various categories to provide a better picture of the labor market situation. The Swedish Statistical Office also follows the International Labor Organization and Eurostat, defining an employed person as someone aged between 15 and 74 (the age of economic participation) who has worked at least one hour for pay in a week. The Labor Market Management Office of Finland, however, uses another criterion, considering registration and active job searching within this office as a criterion for employment. In Finland, two criteria are considered for defining an employed person by various institutions. Based on the first criterion, that of the Labor Office, an employed person is someone aged between 18 and 74 who was not unemployed in the last week of the year and is not registered as unemployed with the Labor Office. The second criterion is the one proposed by the International Labor Organization, which is having one hour of paid work per week. It seems that the Labor Market Management in Finland, aware of the shortcomings of the International Labor Organization's definition of employment, uses two measurements to reflect the realities of the labor market economy. Although different countries follow the International Labor Organization and set the basis for employment as one hour of work to make employment and unemployment statistics comparable internationally, it should also be emphasized that part-time, temporary, and informal jobs are never considered as full employment for an individual. Employment experts do not consider one hour of work per week as a condition for economic growth and poverty reduction. From an economic perspective, employment is tied to phenomena such as sufficient income for the welfare of employees and the economic growth of society. Therefore, decent employment for each individual should contribute to appropriate wages, minimum welfare for employees, and economic growth of society. Based on the argument presented, the concept of 'decent employment' is used in labor economics discussions. According to the concept of 'decent employment', wages should be commensurate with meeting the needs of a dignified life and should be paid timely and regularly to employees. Job security and stability in employment contracts, adherence to safety principles and quality standards in the workplace, appropriate social security services for the workforce and their families, the existence of opportunities for career advancement for all, equality in the distribution of resources and opportunities, and the absence of gender discrimination are among the other conditions of 'decent employment'. In conclusion, the employment and unemployment criteria proposed by the International Labor Organization and used by many countries, while technically and statistically applicable and simple, may not be without criticism. Since in most countries of the world, the usual working hours for employment in institutions and the private sector are around 40 hours per week. Therefore, if this amount of work is legally considered a criterion for employment and can meet the needs of a dignified life, then this legal criterion should be the basis for defining employment. From an economic perspective, the definition of employment should rely on economic realities. Economists consider the condition for adequate household financing, increased economic growth, and poverty reduction to be the optimal utilization and participation of the workforce, not a deficient one in the production process. Therefore, appropriate employment depends on meeting the specific needs of households as well as participation in value-added and economic growth. Any definition of employment that does not genuinely lead to meeting the material needs of the workforce or does not have an impact on economic growth does not reflect economic reality and is not justified. In some countries, two or more definitions are used to reflect the realities of the labor market to compensate for the shortcomings of the International Labor Organization's employment criteria.