Comparing Potential and Actual Employment Generation Capacity of Iran's Manufacturing Industries

This paper tries to compare the existing employment rate with employment generation potential capacity in different manufacturing industries during 1995-2009, using the information related to the added value, employment rate and investment level in 23 industrial fields out of the variety of Iran’s Manufacturing Industries based on ISIC international code. The outcome of this study indicates that the existing employment rate is very low in ratio of the potential employment generation in Iran’s industrial activities. In other words, growth trend and structural changes in production not only fail to match with employment generation, but also has led to deterioration of job creation in the field of industry. Though certain dynamic industries such as machinery, transportation vehicles, chemical and petrochemical industries have to some extent made up for such employment deficiency, nevertheless employment generation in the mentioned areas was limited. As a result an overall unemployment of labor force in the manufacturing industries has taken place.