The unemployment rate in Iran stood at 12.3 percent last year, which ended on March 19, showing 1.2 percent fall compared to the preceding year, the Statistical Center of Iran reported.

The IRNA News Agency quoted the report as saying that the number of jobless individuals has fallen to 2.8 million from 3.2 million, year on year.

To keep the current unemployment rate steady some $200 billion should be invested to create one million jobs annually, the Iranian vice Majlis speaker said.

“In the most optimistic case, all the money which can be allocated to job creation does not exceed 80 billion dollars. So, to create one million jobs annually, the country faces a $120 billion deficit,” Mohammad-Reza Bahonar told the ILNA news agency in February.

Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare Minister Abdolreza Sheikholeslami has said that the country plans to cut its unemployment rate to seven percent by the end of 2012, in line with the fifth socio-economic development plan (2010-2015).

The ministry proposed a plan for sending up to 100,000 laborers abroad by 2015 in a bid to ease unemployment.

Eighteen countries have been identified as the targets for the Iranian workforce.