Labour market situation as of 30 April 2025

As of 30 April 2025, 320 763 people were registered as unemployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  Compared to a month earlier, the number of the unemployed decreased by 3 940 persons or 1.21%.  Of the total number of job seekers, 190 353 or 59.34% were women.  Compared to the same period a year earlier, the unemployment level in BiH decreased by 9 908 or 3.00%. 

Unemployment level decreased by 3 397 persons (1.31%) in the FBiH, 727 persons (1.37%) in the RS and by 73 persons (0.63%) in the BD BiH.  

The structure of job seekers as of 30 April 2025 is as follows:

Unskilled workers: 93 718 or 29.28%, comprising 37 353 (28.73%) men and 56 365 (29.67%) women

Semi-skilled workers/low educational background: 4 347 or 1.36%, comprising 2 048 (1.58%) men and 2 299 (1.21%) women

Skilled workers: 100 329 or 31.35%, comprising 50 769 (39.04%) men and 49 560 (26.08%) women

Highly skilled workers: 676 or 0.21%, comprising 506 (0.39%) men and 170 (0.09%) women

Secondary school qualifications: 90 940 or 28.42%, comprising 30 525 (23.48%) men and 60 415(31.80%) women

Two-year post-secondary education: 4 879 or 1.52%, comprising 1 659 (1.28%) men and 3 220 (1.69%) women

University degree: 25 147 or 7.86%, comprising 7 171 (5.51%) men and 17 976 (9.46%) women

Within the total number of registered unemployed people, 10 905 were newly added to the register in April 2025, of whom 5 633 were women.  The total number of people who were deregistered amounted to 15 170, of whom 7 655 were women.  Of the total number of people who were deregistered, 10 034 or 66.14% were placed in jobs, of whom 5 261 or 52.43% were women.  

In April 2025, employers reported 2 466 new vacancies to public employment services in BiH, of which 619 were for women, while the registered number of people whose employment was terminated during the reported period amounted to 8 586.  The registered number of women whose employment was terminated during the reporting period was 4 476 or 52.13%.

 

According to the BiH Agency for Statistics, the number of people in paid work in BiH amounted to 854 831 in March 2025, of whom 390 747 were women.  Compared to February 2025, the total number of people in work decreased by 0.3% accompanied by an equivalent decrease of 0.3% in the number of women in paid work. 

 

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%).