Living crises hit workers, teachers, nurses and retirees in Iran

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The purchasing power of Iranian families is declining under the weight of rising inflation and the deterioration of the value of the rial, in conjunction with the tightening of US sanctions and restrictions imposed on maritime traffic and oil exports.

Annual inflation reached 73.6% in September, while the value of the riyal has declined by about 35% against the dollar since July, according to data reported by Reuters.

In parallel, there are increasing indications of expanding living and professional pressures facing workers, teachers, nurses, and retirees, amid complaints of low wages, delayed benefits, and high costs of food, housing, and treatment.

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Inflation and collapse of purchasing power

Iran is facing one of the most severe periods of economic pressure in recent years, as war, US sanctions, and tightening restrictions on maritime trade coincide with structural imbalances in the economy.

According to a report published by Reuters on October 14, 2026, the annual inflation rate reached 73.6% in September, while the value of the riyal has declined by about 35% against the dollar since July, based on exchange market data monitored by the “Bonbast” website.

This coincided with a decline in seaborne oil exports, which increased pressure on foreign currency inflows.

According to data from the Iranian Statistical Center on October 1, inflation on an annual basis, that is, comparing prices in September 2026 with the same month of the previous year, reached 89.8%.

The Consumer Price Index rose to 729.8 points, a monthly increase of 4.2%. This indicator differs from the annual inflation rate of 73.6%, because each of them adopts a different calculation method and reference period.

Taken together, the numbers reflect the continued rise in the cost of living at a pace that is putting strong pressure on household incomes.

In the free exchange market, the price of the dollar in early October approached 270 thousand tomans, or about 2.7 million Iranian riyals, according to reports on the currency market reported by international media.

The decline of the riyal leads to an increase in the cost of imported goods, raw materials, medicines and medical equipment, and also reduces the actual value of salaries and savings denominated in the local currency.

Families that depend on fixed income become more vulnerable to price fluctuations, especially when nominal wage increases do not keep pace with the rise in food, housing, and transportation costs.

A report published by The Guardian newspaper on October 5 indicated that the economic crisis and the decline in the value of the currency are putting severe pressure on Iranian families, while sectors of workers face difficulty in covering their basic expenses.

Media reports also cited estimates that the monthly minimum wage, amounting to about 166 million riyals, is equivalent to approximately $66 according to the exchange rate used in those reports.

This comparison remains an estimate, as the dollar value of wages changes with the exchange rate, and does not alone reflect the cost of living inside Iran.

The naval blockade and sanctions...a blow to oil revenues and trade

Economic pressures worsened as the United States imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports in July, then expanded sanctions to include financial, trade, and tanker networks linked to exports of oil and petrochemical products.

These measures aim to reduce Tehran's ability to market oil and collect its revenues, at a time when the country is facing increasing difficulties in accessing international markets and financial channels.

According to a report published on October 13, data from Vortexa, a company specializing in energy and maritime shipping intelligence, showed that Iranian crude oil exports transported by sea fell to zero in October, after a sharp decline that began in the second half of September.

This number refers specifically to seaborne exports, according to the data on which the report was based, and does not necessarily mean that Iran has lost all of its oil reserves or all possible channels for selling oil.

On October 8, the US Treasury Department announced the imposition of new sanctions on individuals, networks and ships that Washington accuses of participating in the transport of Iranian oil and its derivatives or facilitating transactions related to it.

These measures come as part of a broader campaign targeting sanctions evasion networks and money flows linked to Iranian trade.

The cessation of marine exports, if it continues, will place public finances under increasing pressure, given the importance of oil revenues in providing foreign currency and financing imports and government spending.

The decline in dollar flows also exacerbates the difficulty of financing the import of medicines, raw materials, and basic commodities, and may increase pressure on the exchange market and the prices of import-related goods.

However, the cessation of maritime exports does not mean the absence of all oil or commercial revenues, as estimates of stocks on tankers differ from data on new shipments, and maritime restrictions do not automatically eliminate all forms of land trade or alternative financial channels. Reuters reported in a report published on September 1 that Iranian oil remained available for sale, with shipments and floating stocks continuing to exist outside the besieged area, but the shrinkage of new supplies increased doubts about Iran’s ability to continue exporting at previous levels.

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Workers... delayed wages and layoffs

The crisis is directly evident in the labor sector, where the problem of declining real wages intersects with delayed salaries, job losses, and high housing and food expenses.

Workers whose families depend on one salary face increasing difficulty in maintaining a stable standard of living, especially with the rising costs of transportation, energy, and daily needs.

In a report published on September 29, Reuters quoted testimonies from inside Iran about the decline in the ability to afford daily life expenses, including rent, medicines, and basic needs.

These certificates reflect the widening gap between income and the cost of living, at a time when some commercial activities are facing difficulty in raising prices due to the weak purchasing power of customers, despite the high operating costs.

In the industrial and service sectors, workers frequently complain about delayed benefits and insufficient wages to cover the costs of living.

Iranian opposition websites reported, in a report published on October 13, protests by workers who were dismissed from the Khawar Spinning Factory in the city of Rasht, in addition to other protest movements between October 10 and 12.

There were also reports of labor protests in the oil and energy sectors, complaints regarding wages, working conditions, and housing costs, issues that are particularly important in industrial areas that depend on labor related to production and exports.

There is no unified and up-to-date national tally available in published and verified information that would allow determining the number of workers who lost their jobs or the total arrears in all sectors.

The main problem is that nominal wage increases, even when enacted, may quickly lose their effect if food, housing, and transportation prices rise more rapidly.

Thus, the deterioration in the standard of living is not measured by the amount of salary alone, but rather by what the worker can actually buy at the end of the month.

Teachers... salaries do not keep up with the cost of living

Schools and educational staff face increasing pressure due to the decline in the real value of salaries and the rising costs of life, as well as demands related to wages, insurance, and social services.

A wave of videos posted by teachers on social media highlighted the desire of some of them to resign or take early retirement, due to the decline in the economic feasibility of continuing to work.

The Iran Wire website stated in a report published on October 1 that the average monthly income of a teacher in Iran fell to about $100, according to the exchange rate used in the report.

This remains a media estimate that does not necessarily represent a comprehensive official average for all teachers, as salaries vary according to years of service, job grade, and geographical location.

The report indicated that some teachers now believe that continuing to work is no longer economically feasible, in light of the widening gap between salaries and food, housing, and transportation expenses.

The circulating resignation clips do not mean that all the teachers concerned have actually completed the procedures for leaving work, but they reflect professional and living pressures that are worth monitoring.

On September 29, Iran Wire also addressed teachers’ complaints about low wages and declining purchasing power, noting that some of them announced resignation or early retirement via video clips.

The website quoted union activists that current wages, along with working conditions and administrative and security pressures, are pushing some workers to think about leaving the profession.

The repercussions of the crisis are not limited to the teacher’s income, but extend to families that depend on the salary of one or more public sector workers.

High rents, transportation and food costs make maintaining a stable standard of living more difficult, especially in major cities.

The departure of experienced teachers may increase the burden on schools that already suffer from a shortage of staff.

Nurses...the wage crisis threatens the stability of the health sector

Nursing staff face pressures that combine the low real value of salaries, long working hours, occupational stress, and high costs of living.

These circumstances raise fears of widespread resignations or the departure of more workers from the profession, at a time when the health sector needs to maintain its staff.

On October 5, Iranian websites quoted Ahmad Najafian, head of the Iranian Nursing Organization, as saying that about 5,000 nurses left the profession annually during the past two or three years, compared to about 3,500 nurses in the previous year.

He warned that the continuation of this trend, with the limited ability to hire replacements, may exacerbate the shortage of personnel in health institutions.

In previous reports published by Iranian media on September 29, they indicated an increase in cases of resignation and leaving work among nurses, and Lokman Sharifi, a member of the Supreme Council of the Iranian Nursing Organization, was quoted as saying that the gap between salaries and costs of living has widened to the point that the salary of some nurses is insufficient to cover the expenses of the entire month.

Complaints included low wages, mandatory overtime, delayed payments, and exhaustion resulting from work pressure.

The effects of these pressures are compounded when health sector workers face difficulty in covering the costs of housing, transportation, and food, while the cost of medicines and medical supplies rises as a result of the decline in the currency and import difficulties.

The departure of experienced people from the profession may increase the burden on remaining nurses, and complicate the ability of hospitals to provide services in a stable manner.

Retirees... pensions are eroding in the face of food and treatment

Retirees are one of the groups most exposed to the repercussions of inflation, because their incomes are often fixed or change at a slower pace than the prices of goods and services.

The risks increase for those who depend on the pension alone or who bear the expenses of treating family members.

In a report published on September 29, Reuters quoted testimonies from inside Iran about the difficulty of providing basic needs and medicines in light of the high prices.

These testimonies demonstrate how daily expenses have become an increasing burden on families with limited income, including families that depend on pensions.

In recent months, retirees, workers, and nurses have organized protests in Tehran and 16 other cities to protest inflation, rising prices, and deteriorating living conditions, and to demand settlement of arrears, improvement of supplementary insurance, and raising pensions.

These movements reveal the intersection of the demands of retirees with those of workers, teachers, and nurses: raising incomes, paying dues, improving health coverage, and the ability to purchase food and medicine.

In light of high inflation, any increase in pension may not achieve an actual improvement if it does not keep pace with rising prices.

Can the government stop the deterioration?

In the face of the decline of the riyal, at the end of September, a program was announced to sell up to two billion dollars through government banks with the aim of supporting the exchange market.

But the currency continued to decline, as the dollar recorded about 2.688 million riyals in the free market on October 3, according to a video report published by Reuters Connect, before later reports indicated levels approaching 270 thousand tomans to the dollar.

On October 14, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, Abdel Nasser Hemmati, rejected the description of the Iranian economy as collapsing, considering this characterization to be misleading, according to the official Iranian news agency IRNA.

He said, during the meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Bangkok, that the bank is focusing on containing inflation, stabilizing the financial system, and securing foreign currency for basic imports, including medicines.

But the continued decline of the riyal and the rise in prices raise questions about the ability of current measures to stop the erosion of purchasing power.

The effectiveness of currency support measures remains linked to the government's ability to provide sustainable foreign exchange flows, restore export revenues, and ease restrictions on trade and remittances.

Injecting currency into the market alone does not address the imbalances that push prices to rise, especially if maritime restrictions and sanctions continue and confidence in the riyal declines.

On October 5, Iranian media reported the resignation of Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad, at a time when the country was facing a decline in oil revenues and financial pressures.

Analysts believe that the crisis is related to accusations about managing the proceeds from the sale of oil through intermediaries, and with amounts owed to the National Iranian Oil Company.

The crisis goes beyond the price of the dollar

Indicators available until October 15, 2026 show that the economic crisis in Iran is no longer limited to the decline of the currency or the rise in commodity prices, but rather affects the ability of large sectors to continue working and cover basic needs.

The combination of high inflation, the decline of the riyal, and restrictions on oil exports narrows the scope for increasing wages and pensions sufficient to compensate for losses in purchasing power.

The complaints of workers, teachers, nurses, and retirees present a picture of a living crisis in which eroding salaries intersect with rising costs of food, housing, and treatment, while reports of resignations and protests indicate increasing tension within vital sectors.

In the nursing sector, figures reported by the media about thousands of workers leaving the profession annually raise concerns about a shortage of staff, while teachers’ reports indicate that some workers are considering resignation or early retirement due to financial pressures.

However, estimating the future course of the economy depends on developments that are still unresolved, foremost of which are the faltering negotiations with the United States of America, the continuation of the naval blockade, Iran’s ability to restore its oil exports, the effectiveness of US sanctions, and internal policies related to prices, wages, and support.

In the absence of a tangible improvement in these factors, groups that depend on fixed income will remain the most vulnerable to the repercussions of the crisis.