TEHRAN – Some 850,000 people have lost their jobs since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Iran until August 1, Masoud Babaei, an official with the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labour, and Social Welfare, said on Monday.

Since the first cases of the disease were identified in the country, numerous businesses were affected, 62 percent of which were in the service sector that usually has the largest workforce, he stated.

He went on to say that coronavirus caused 850,000 people to lose their jobs, 59 percent of whom were active in the service sector. However, 31 percent of businesses in the industrial sector were affected, and 28 percent of industrial workers were laid off.

In the agricultural sector, about 20 percent of the businesses bearded the consequences, and 3 percent of the labor force became unemployed, he lamented, adding, approximately 12,500 to 13,500 people were added to our pension population throughout the country, but now it is raising.

In fact, more than 850,000 people claimed to have lost their jobs due to the disease, he regretted.

A new system was piloted in 5 provinces called the comprehensive labor relations system, so that both inspections and payments can be carried out in accordance with the law for individuals who must receive a stipend, he highlighted.

$24b earmarked to shield economy against coronavirus

The government has allocated 1,000 trillion rails (about $24 billion at the official rate of 42,000 rials) to help lessen the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the national economy.

The President Hassan Rouhani said that 120 trillion rials (about $3 billion) has been allocated to the health sector and 50 trillion rials (about $1.2 billion) has been allocated to the unemployment fund.

Moreover, 750 trillion rials (about $17.8 billion) will be paid in low-interest loans to businesses, Rouhani noted, adding, finally, 80 trillion rials (about $1.9 billion) will be paid in cash handouts to low-income families.

The number of people diagnosed with coronavirus in Iran reached 388,810 on Monday, of whom 22,410 have died and 335,572 recovered so far. Over the past 24 hours, 2,152 new cases of people having the virus have been identified, and 117 died, Sima Sadat Lari ministry of health’s spokesman said.

Currently, 3,737 patients with coronavirus are in critical condition, she added.

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