A variety of newspapers including the pro-reform Shargh daily quoted Hasan Rouhani as saying his analysis of the economy is far different from the government's current assessment. He also said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has left much work to be done.
Despite Ahmadinejad's claims of creating hundreds of thousands of jobs, he added, only an average 14,000 were created annually over the 2006 to 2012 period.
Rouhani, who assumes office in August, regularly criticized Ahmadinejad during his presidential campaign.