Unemployment in Iranian Kurdistan also affects shopkeepers, who have no customers. As Iranian Kurdistan goes through a financial crisis, shopkeepers also suffer. Iranian Kurdistan’s weak economic foundation means that large numbers of Kurds are jobless. Things were supposed to get better for Iran’s Kurdish regions under President Hassan Rouhani’s government. But officials say that unemployment is rampant, especially among young men looking for their first jobs. Small business owners could also mean shopkeepers, who have been forced into the business because there are no other opportunities. According to government statistics, under Rouhani’s cabinet the unemployment rate has fallen one percent for every year he has been in office. That means 27 more years are needed to uproot unemployment in the provinces. The Kurdistan Province governor says they have started their plans to build a strong economic foundation in the province.
