Iran's economy burns in flames of war
Millions Are Facing Crushing Despair as Mass Job losses Sweep Iran
Smoke seen rising from a commercial area in Tehran after the March 2 airstrike. Collected photo.
The daily lives of ordinary Iranians are currently mired in extreme hardship. Asal, a designer based in Tehran, used to receive numerous projects from abroad. However, due to the internet shutdown, she has not received any new work for two months. She lamented that it has now become impossible to sustain her household with her current income.
Thousands of airstrikes have devastated Iran's factories, with approximately 23,000 commercial establishments damaged by the impacts of war. Consequently, at least one million people have directly lost their jobs, and local media outlets estimate that many more have become indirectly unemployed.
With shipping routes halted, the import system has collapsed. Due to this economic freefall, 50% of the population is now at risk of losing their jobs. The inflation rate has surpassed 70%, causing the prices of daily essentials to skyrocket every day.
Major industrial plants are now nearly non-operational due to Israeli airstrikes. Many large companies are laying off workers because of a shortage of raw materials. Even dairy factories are shutting down due to a lack of packaging equipment. With flights suspended, airline employees are currently left without salaries.
A mountain of applications for unemployment benefits is piling up in government offices. Over the past two months, the number of applicants has nearly tripled. The heaviest blow of this scarcity is falling on general laborers, who are in the greatest danger due to a lack of influence and legal protection.
The country's prominent e-commerce firms are also constantly reducing their workforce. Internet-dependent businesses are currently in an extremely vulnerable state. To survive, many data analysts are now considering driving for ride-sharing apps. Burdened by debt, they are restless with anxiety about the future.
Women working from home have also fallen into distress due to the suspension of online work. Those who earned an income by teaching languages online can no longer conduct classes properly even on local apps. Because the platforms frequently crash, students are unable to participate in lessons. One-third of the unemployed are working women.
The government is also under significant pressure as tax revenue has declined. Experts believe that without substantial government aid, it will be very difficult to manage this situation. There are fears that the number of unemployed will rise further if tax waivers and low-interest loans are not provided.
A storm of criticism is brewing over the government's economic policies. While the salaries of government employees have increased, ordinary workers are lost and desperate after losing their jobs. The Chamber of Commerce is demanding that, during this crisis, employers should stand by their workers with compassion.
The government is directly blaming the United States and Israel for this crisis. The administration is planning to increase voucher facilities for the poor. However, local newspapers are reminding them that mere words will not suffice. They argue that the time has come to take special measures for a wartime economy.
The scars of the protests from a few years ago have not yet healed in the hearts of Iranians. Scarcity and uncertainty are now consuming every family in the country. People are spending their days in extreme anxiety, fearing what the future may hold.
