The non-participation of the Iranians at the February elections -- in Tehran, only 12% of the voters voted - has been lived by many, in Tehran, as" the end of the grace period of the reformers".
Pretty shocking when you consider that the earlier elections that put Khatami in "power" were swarmed by the Iranian people. 12 farking percent? See how the mighty have fallen!
Not so shocking when you consider that the Iranians have discovered that the the reformers are just another case of "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss..." There just ain't a future with the Mullah's or the reformers. None, zero zip nada. Get a load of this report - from IRNA - no less:
Official: Youth unemployment close to 60 percent
irna.com
Tehran, April 26, IRNA -- Deputy Head of Iran's Youth Employment
Organization Kambiz Zolfaqari said here Saturday that about 60 percent
of unemployed consists of youth between 15 to 24 years of age.
Speaking to IRNA, he added that youth unemployment is an important
concern of the society.
He said the organization's task is to strengthen
employment-related capabilities of the youth by providing relevant
information about the job market and holding technical and vocational
seminars.
The organ has not been assigned with generating employment
opportunities, 'which, is the responsibility of the other government
bodies', Zolfaqari said.
A session of High Council of Employment (HCE) was held here
Tuesday and the State Management and Planning Organization presented a
report on the latest developments in the domestic labor market and the
need to strive to attain the targeted employment rate of 12.1 percent
by the end of the next Iranian year (starts March 21).
The plan calls for creating over 900,000 employment opportunities
through achieving an eight percent gross domestic product (GDP).
The report alluded to the 600,000 new job seekers that have
entered the market in the first three years of the Third Five-Year
Development Plan (March 2000-March 2005).
In addition, an annual average of 538,000 jobs have been generated
during the three-year period, it said. adding, "To attain the
employment target outlined in the development plan, over 904,000
employment opportunities have to be created on the average annually in
the next two years."
The participants also said that other provision call for over
100,000 jobs to be created in the small-medium as well as agricultural
processing industries.
In a comprehensive look at the employment situation in the
country, Iran's Statistical Center (ISC) said in a report in March
that the unemployment rate among the educated -- those with
high-school education or higher -- stood at 41.4 percent in the last
Iranian year.
"The figure compares with the 23 percent unemployment rate among
the lower educated and illiterate groups in the same period," it
added. |
