Survey of rural-urban employment inequality in Iran (1956-2006)

Accepted: 2007/3/1Job creation and decreasing unemployment rate is of a great importance in the country. Generating employment opportunities occupies an important position due to its undoubted role regarding poverty alleviation and inequality mitigation. The aim of the study is discussing the unequal job opportunities between rural and urban areas during 1335-1385 decades. The results of this study indicate that during the mentioned period, there were more tendencies toward generating job opportunities in the urban areas than in rural areas; so that, the amount of the jobs created in the urban areas is 2/5 times more than that of in the rural areas. In the course of the period, the unemployment rate proportion in rural area has been 36/6 percent, however only 16 percent of the generated job opportunities belong to the rural areas. The inequality and unemployment rate has not been decreased during the years after the victory of Islamic Revolution, while it increased from 4 times before revolution to 5/62 times after it. The least difference regarding job creation increase happened during 1345-55. In the course of this decade, against every job opportunity in the rural areas, 3/42 job opportunities were created in the urban areas. The most difference regarding to job opportunity increase happened during 1375-85; and more than 7/23 jobs were generated in the urban areas, against one job opportunity in the rural areas. Giving the role of the employment in lessening economic, social and political inequality in the rural and urban areas and in mitigating rural-urban migrations, a balanced distribution of job opportunities between rural and urban areas is necessary.