Page 21 - IRANRptDec21

Iran’s autumn PPI turns negative for first time in four years
declined for two consecutive months due to impacts stemming from the onset of the sixth wave of coronavirus in Iran.
The “New orders” sub-index hit 57.43, the highest level seen since the Iranian PMI reading was first calculated two years ago.
The "supplier deliveries" sub-index, measuring how fast deliveries are made, moved up from 54.37 in the previous Persian month to 54.51.
The sub-index for “raw material inventories” gauged an improvement to 52.03.
Iran’s producer price inflation (PPI) stood at -2.3% in the autumn period (September-December), marking the first negative reading for four years, the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) announced on February 1.
According to the data—compiled by the Statistical Center of Iran (SCI)—the lowest figure was recorded for the coal industry and oil refineries (-10.7%). Next were paper and paper products (-4.6%) and petrochemicals (-2%).
The highest inflation rates in industry were for office and computing appliances (26.6%), garment production, processing, and dying (9.5%) and transportation equipment production (7.8%).
4.3 Labour and income
4.3.1 Labour market, unemployment dynamics
Unemployment rate estimated at 9.8% in 2020
According to the Central Bank of Iran, the country’s unemployment rate stood at 9.4% y/y in the fourth quarter of 2020, down from 9.5% y/y in the previous quarter. Iran's unemployment rate was estimated to reach 9.8% of the total labor force in 2020. The unemployment rate has been above 10% for the last 10 years, and this rate is estimated to have peaked in 2014 when it reached 14%.
Youth unemployment (covering the 15-29 age range), stands at least twice the general joblessness rate, according to latest available data, while university graduate unemployment is thought to be around 40%. Despite the many times the government has stressed the need to boost employment, overall youth unemployment has risen more than 5% in the past three years.
21 IRAN Country Report December 2021 www.intellinews.com