An analysis of employment trends in rural areas in Iran

Employment is counted as one of the basic components in rural and agricultural development. Comfort and physical and mental well-being are achieved through the access to a proper job and profession. This article tries to analyze the employment situation in rural areas of Iran. Statistical data have been obtained from the Statistics Center of Iran and the Central Bank over the period 1989-2019. In this period, five economic, social and cultural development plans have been implemented and the sixth development plan is underway. During the period under study, the rural population of the country has decreased, but the rural employment rate has been fluctuating and variable. The employment rate in the agricultural sector has remained stable at an average of around 51%, and the sector continues to maintain its dominance in rural employment. In this article, the performance of the economic development and rural employment project is reviewed. I it is shown that during 2017-2020, rural employment creation was limited only to feasibility studies and identification of target villages.