Iraq: Higher cost of living doubles the phenomenon of double work

by **claud39** Sun May 05, 2019 8:40 am

Iraq: Higher cost of living doubles the phenomenon of double work

05/05/2019

Iraq: Higher cost of living doubles the phenomenon of double work 14943

Economy News _ Baghdad

Iraqis find themselves trapped by the high cost of living, forcing many of them to work double to provide income sufficient to meet the needs of their families of food and pay for the study of their children and rent housing and other needs.

An Iraqi official in the Ministry of Planning, the "New Arab", reveals the number of Iraqis who work more than one job a day, stressing that they exceed six million people.

According to the official, who declined to be named, most of those who do two jobs a day (morning and evening) are state employees, as taxi drivers, accountants or salespeople in offices and private companies, to manage living, especially those who live in rented homes or have Great treatment expenses.

He added that most Iraqi employees do not get enough income from their jobs and there is no clear law currently prevents double work.

Economist Muzahim al-Hassani says that about one-third of Iraqis today can be considered as poor and affected, and these have found them competing in middle-class jobs that are also trying to meet their needs.

"Income rates are weak and are not commensurate with the citizens' need for food, drink, clothing, treatment and wages, especially for those with very low income, as well as contractors who have not been hired in the state," he added.

"The poverty rate in Iraq has exceeded 30 percent with a clear rise in the prices of purchases, so there is no equality between income and monthly spending, and forced home to work double to provide for the needs of his family."

He pointed out that the Iraqi family of six people must have income of one million dinars a month (about 850 dollars), if living in a rented house, and the limits of 600 thousand dinars (about 500 dollars), if the house is private property.

Adel Amran, 30, a contractor with the Ministry of Municipalities in the street cleaning work, says to the "new Arab": "I get 400 thousand dinars a month ($ 330), not enough to meet the rent of the house and the expenses of my family, so I work after the end of work in An exhibition to sell cars until midnight ".

"I no longer feel the taste of life. Every day I work, and I rarely spend time with my family until the end of the week, but the hand is not a ploy. We have to work to provide what we need. Prices are high and income is limited."

The case of Sami Hussein, 41, is very different. He works twice a day in a library and at night runs a generator in the neighborhood where he lives.

"Employment has become very difficult. Unemployment is increasing and job opportunities are constantly shrinking, especially with thousands of factories and factories stopped since 2003," Sami says.

The Central Bureau of Statistics of the Ministry of Planning said in a recent report that the rate of unemployment among young people in 2018 for the age group between 15 and 29 years, amounted to 22.6%, higher than the national average of 74%, noting that the unemployment of males for this category amounted to 18.1 And 56.3% in females.

The report added that the rate of youth participation in the labor force was 36.1%, indicating that young males accounted for 61.6% compared to 8.8% for young females.

The International Monetary Fund announced in May 2018 that the youth unemployment rate in Iraq is more than 40%.

Sami said: "I am not an employee to receive a salary may be enough for the end of the month, so I work twice to support my family and save the expenses of the house from the food and clothing and treatment and wages of water and electricity, which began to state the prices gradually doubled.

State employees did not escape dual work, some of them working as a taxi driver and others in shops, libraries or other professions.

"I work as an employee in a state department and earn 650,000 dinars a month (530 dollars). My house rent only needs 300 dollars a month, so I have to work after work. Taxi driver for a few hours after the end of my official swirl. "

According to a report published by the site "Numbio", on the standards of living in the world, the standard of living in Iraq is higher than Egypt and less than Lebanon.

"The cost of living in Egypt is higher than that of Iraq by 29.09 percent, while the cost of living in Lebanon is 48.64 percent higher than in Iraq," the report said.

The report revealed that the Iraqi citizen spends on basic life services up to $ 107 a month.

But observers said the report's report on Iraq's monthly spending was inaccurate, because spending rates were much higher.

Oil-rich Iraq faces stifling economic and financial crises that have led to increased budget deficits. Many provinces have witnessed in previous periods popular demonstrations in protest against the deterioration of services and the cost of living and the aggravation of unemployment.

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