CNN: War with US, Israel pushes millions of Iranians into unemployment

Millions of Iranians have lost their jobs and fallen below the poverty line amid the war involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, CNN reported.

The crisis has affected nearly all sectors of the economy. Among the growing ranks of the unemployed are workers at oil refineries and textile factories, truck drivers, flight attendants, and journalists.

Iran’s economy was already under severe strain before the conflict began.

Due to inflation, corruption, and sanctions, per capita national income fell from around $8,000 in 2012 to about $5,000 in 2024. Outlooks are becoming even more bleak.

The conflict could push up to an additional 4.1 million people into poverty, according to the United Nations Development Programme.

Physical damage caused by thousands of airstrikes has led to large-scale displacement.

EcoIran reports that more than 23,000 factories and businesses have been affected.

Gholamhossein Mohammadi, Iran’s deputy minister of labour and social welfare, said this has directly resulted in the loss of one million jobs.

Etemad Online estimates that indirect effects of the conflict have cost another one million people their jobs.

Disruptions to shipping—and consequently to imports—have further destabilised the already fragile economy.

According to Hadi Kahalzadeh of the Quincy Institute, this places “50% of Iranian jobs at risk” and pushes an additional “5% of the population into poverty.”

Official data also show a sharp rise in unemployment benefit claims: 147,000 people applied over the past two months, roughly three times more than in the same period last year.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov