Daily News C1 · Advanced 4 practice tests

Amid war and sanctions, many Iranians are losing their jobs and struggling to get by

2 min read 318 words Published Sep 12, 2026

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Intro

Many Iranians are facing a worsening employment crisis as war-related disruption and the U.S. blockade cost them their primary jobs. With sanctions tightening, even secondary work is becoming harder to keep.

Vocabulary

Word	Part of speech	Meaning	Example
disruption noun	noun	Meaning: a disturbance that interrupts the normal continuation of a process or activity	Example: Repeated transport disruption made it difficult for employees to reach the regional office.
fallback adjective	adjective	Meaning: available as a secondary option when the preferred option fails or disappears	Example: The organisation developed a fallback strategy in case negotiations collapsed.
supplementary adjective	adjective	Meaning: provided in addition to something primary or more important	Example: She earns supplementary income by translating technical documents at weekends.
principal adjective	adjective	Meaning: first in importance, rank, or influence	Example: The principal challenge is ensuring that relief reaches isolated communities.
absorb verb	verb	Meaning: to withstand or accommodate an impact, cost, or difficulty without being overwhelmed	Example: Small businesses often cannot absorb sudden increases in operating costs.
dependable adjective	adjective	Meaning: consistently reliable and worthy of confidence	Example: A dependable income is essential when a household has no financial reserves.
intensifies verb	verb	Meaning: becomes stronger, more severe, or more extreme	Example: The shortage intensifies whenever deliveries are delayed by severe weather.

The story

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Many Iranians are losing their jobs as the economic consequences of war and the U.S. blockade deepen. For people who have already seen their main source of income disappear, the pressure is becoming more severe: some are now also losing the backup jobs that helped them manage financially.

The situation illustrates how economic disruption can extend beyond a single employment loss. When primary work disappears, a secondary job can provide an additional source of income and help a worker cope with instability. As sanctions tighten, however, some of these fallback opportunities are becoming less secure as well.

That leaves affected workers with fewer ways to replace lost earnings. A person who once depended on a main job and supplementary work may now face the loss of both. The problem is therefore not limited to unemployment in isolation; it also concerns the weakening of the alternatives people use when their principal employment is no longer available.

The reported pattern highlights a broader difficulty in measuring economic pressure through job losses alone. Official or visible employment may not show how heavily a household depends on more than one source of work. When backup employment also disappears, the consequences can be harder to absorb, particularly for people who are already trying to recover from an earlier loss of income.

The pressures described in the report are closely connected. War has contributed to job losses, while the U.S. blockade and tightening sanctions are creating additional strain. Together, these forces are making it more difficult for some Iranians to maintain employment or find replacement work.

The available account does not specify the industries involved, the number of people affected, or the particular locations within Iran. It does, however, describe a clear consequence for livelihoods: work is becoming less dependable. For those already facing unemployment, the loss of backup jobs removes another source of support and intensifies the struggle to get by.

Warm-up questions

What financial risks might arise when a household relies on two jobs rather than one?
How might war and sanctions affect employment beyond the immediate loss of a job?

Comprehension questions

What employment pattern is the article primarily describing?
Why can a secondary job be important after primary employment disappears?
How does the article qualify the measurement of economic pressure?
What forces does the article connect to the worsening employment situation?
What information does the available account not provide?

Opinion questions

Should governments prioritise preserving secondary employment during an economic crisis? Explain your position.
Which is more damaging to household stability: losing one well-paid job or several less secure jobs?

Further discussion

How might conventional unemployment statistics underestimate the effects of sanctions on households?
What policies could make workers less vulnerable when both primary and fallback employment weaken?