Prices rose 3.1 percent in the Iranian month to April 19

The head of Iran's Statistics Center, Mohammad Madad, said that the unemployment rate among young people between the age of 15 and 24 is currently at 25.6%. Madad, whose statement was provided by Mehr News Agency added that "25.6% of young people are unemployed but this figure reaches up to 29.6% in the cities and 19.4% in rural areas."

Apart from the problem of unemployment, the inflation rate amounted to 24.2% year-on-year in April, hitting directly Iran’s poorest strata.

The deputy reformist Ali Reza Mahjoub, told Fars News Agency that “despite the government's plan to create or help to establish small workshops to find job opportunities, there are still four million jobless people in the country”. He added, “the unemployment real rate cannot be less than 16%.”

Meanwhile, The International Monetary Fund (IMF) sees inflation as the most important challenge facing Iran's economy, which has been robust in recent years.

In a statement, the IMF recommended that the Iranian government strengthen its fiscal stance, increase interest rates and allow greater exchange rate flexibility to tame runaway inflation in the country.

The international organization suggested to the government “phase out the large subsidies on energy products and replace them with targeted social assistance”, over the medium term.

al-Sharq al-Awsat, London, May 13, 2008; PRESSTV, Iran, May 13, 2008