The female unemployment rate hit 16.7% in the statistics for the spring of 2026. (Eghtesad 24, September 19, 2026) The latest report from the Statistical Center of Iran reveals macroeconomic indicators.
450,000 employed individuals lost their jobs. The surge in the economically inactive population reached the 40 million marks. Additionally, according to the report by the Statistical Center, the main burden of job imbalances in Iran falls on the shoulders of youth, women, and university graduates.
Unemployment among holders of university degrees
Graduates who have spent years of their lives and resources studying in higher education institutions are met with closed doors in formal industries and services upon entering the job market.
A significant portion of the country’s university entrants are women, but the current structure of Iran’s economy has not only failed to create a suitable platform to utilize this capacity, but at the first wave of economic recession, it pushes this group to the margins of the labor market.
Statistics show that the female economic participation rate is significantly lower than that of men, and even that limited population seeking work faces a twofold unemployment rate. (Eghtesad 24, September 19, 2026)
