Iran Focus

London, 3 Nov – On Wednesday, economic expert close to Iran, Davoud Mirzaie, said that as the country’s currency, the rial, continues to plummet, Iran’s workers have lost 80 percent of their purchasing power.

In an interview with the state-run ISNA news agency, Mirzaie continued. “The 19.5 percent wage increase has not shown itself in the workers’ lives, meaning the value of their wages in March 2018 is far below its value in March 2016. In other words, the workers’ purchasing power has decreased between 50 to 80 percent. This is causing numerous problems for the families of the country’s workers.” He added, “Such conditions have left the workers unable in providing for their basic needs. Therefore, labor unions have time and again called on the Ministry of Labor to see into this issue. Unfortunately, this remained unresolved.”

Iran Focus

London, 31 Oct – Iran’s economy continues to plummet, which has led to a growing economic crisis — unprecedented rates of unemployment, poverty, and inequality plague the country.

On May 5th, state-run Eqtesad website published a story titled “Broken backs under the weight of unemployment” that said, “Two-thirds of the Iranian people live under the poverty line! Maybe this statistic has not been written anywhere but it is a sad truth that rarely any official dares to reveal.”

Iran Focus

London, 30 Oct – The Iranian inflation rate has risen to 15.9% in October, the Central Bank of Iran reported. They also noted that the inflation rate has soared by 36.9% compared with the same month from 2017.

This announcement came just one week before US sanctions targeting Iran’s international banking and oil export sectors come into force.