Labour market overview, situation as of 31 March 2025



As of 31 March 2025, 324 233 people were registered as unemployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  Compared to a month earlier, the number of the unemployed decreased by 81 persons or 0.02%.  Of the total number of job seekers, 191 987 or 59.21% were women.  Compared to the same period a year earlier, the unemployment level in BiH decreased by 11 153 or 3.24%. 

Unemployment level decreased by 470 persons (0.87%) in the RS and by 58 persons (0.49%) in the BD BiH, while it increased by 447 persons (0.17%) in the FBiH.  

The structure of job seekers as of 31 March 2025 is as follows:

Unskilled workers: 94 492 or 29.14%, comprising 37 745 (28.54%) men and 56 747 (29.56%) women

Semi-skilled workers/low educational background: 4 412 or 1.36%, comprising 2 068 (1.56%) men and 2 344 (1.22%) women

Skilled workers: 101 780 or 31.39%, comprising 51 679 (39.08%) men and 50 101 (26.10%) women

Highly skilled workers: 695 or 0.21%, comprising 519 (0.39%) men and 176 (0.09%) women

Secondary school qualifications: 92 320 or 28.47%, comprising 31 247 (23.63%) men and 61 073 (31.81%) women

Two-year post-secondary education: 5 011 or 1.55%, comprising 1 684 (1.27%) men and 3 327 (1.73%) women

University degree: 25 523 or 7.87%, comprising 7 304 (5.52%) men and 18 219 (9.49%) women

Within the total number of registered unemployed people, 11 670 were newly added to the register in March 2025, of whom 5 795 were women.  The total number of people who were deregistered amounted to 11 814, of whom 5 523 were women.  Of the total number of people who were deregistered, 7 200 or 60.94% were placed in jobs, of whom 3 594 or 49.92% were women.  

In March 2025, employers reported 2 305 new vacancies to public employment services in BiH, of which 409 were for women, while the registered number of people whose employment was terminated during the reported period amounted to 9 010.  The registered number of women whose employment was terminated during the reporting period was 4 595 or 51.00%.

 

According to the BiH Agency for Statistics, the number of people in paid work in BiH amounted to 857 707 in February 2025, of whom 391 970 were women.  Compared to January 2025, the total number of people in work decreased by 0.3%, while the number of women in work decreased by 0.2%. 

 

According to the results of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) for the fourth quarter of 2024, the labour force in BiH (economically active population) comprised 1 423 000 people and the number of inactive people amounted to 1 452 000. 

The labour force included 1 257 000 people in work and 166 000 unemployed people. The LFS unemployment rate was substantially lower than the administrative rate and it stood at 11.7% for the fourth quarter of 2024 at the level of BiH.

The number of people in work in the fourth quarter of 2024 increased by 0.2% compared to the third quarter, while the number of the unemployed decreased by 4.1%.

The unemployment rate in BiH stood at 11.7% in the fourth quarter of 2024 and it was lower compared to the third quarter of 2024 (12.2%) by 0.5 percentage points.  The LFS employment rate in the fourth quarter of 2024 stood at 43.7% and it increased by 0.1 percentage points compared to the third quarter of 2024 (43.6%).

The youth (aged 15-24) unemployment rate in BiH stood at 31.2% in the fourth quarter of 2024 which is a decrease of 0.2 percentage points compared to the third quarter (31.4%).