Labour market overview, 31 May 2026

As of 31 May 2026, 305 335 people were registered as unemployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  Compared to a month earlier, the number of the unemployed was lower by 4 488 persons or 1.45%.  Of the total number of job seekers, 182 213 or 59.68% were women.  Compared to the same period a year earlier, unemployment in BiH was lower by 10 159 persons or 3.22%. 

Unemployment decreased by 3 804 persons (1.53%) in the Federation of BiH, by 559 persons (1.15%) in Republika Srpska and by 125 persons (1.09%) in the Brčko District of BiH.

The structure of job seekers as of 31 May 2026 was as follows:

Unskilled workers: 89 012 or 29.15%, comprising 35 346 (28.71%) men and 53 666 (29.45%) women

Semi-skilled workers/low educational background: 3 870 or 1.27%, comprising 1 833 (1.49%) men and 2 037 (1.12%) women

Skilled workers: 95 759 or 31.36%, comprising 47 924 (38.92%) men and 47 835 (26.25%) women

Highly skilled workers: 542 or 0.18%, comprising 382 (0.31%) men and 160 (0.09%) women

Secondary school qualifications: 87 220 or 28.57%, comprising 29 220 (23.73%) men and 58 000 (31.83%) women

Two-year post-secondary education: 4 582 or 1.50%, comprising 1 514 (1.23%) men and 3 068 (1.68%) women

University degree: 24 350 or 7.97%, comprising 6 903 (5.61%) men and 17 447 (9.58%) women

Within the total number of registered unemployed people, 8 291 were newly added to the register in ¸May 2026, of whom 4 163 were women.  The total number of people who were deregistered amounted to 12 817, of whom 6 329 were women.  Of the total number of people who were deregistered, 7 362 or 57.44% were placed in employment, of whom 3 777 or 51.30% were women.  

In May 2026, employers reported 3 404 vacancies to public employment services in BiH, including 899 vacancies for women. During the same reporting period, 6 650 individuals were registered as having had their employment terminated. During the reporting period, 3 384 women were registered as having had their employment terminated, accounting for 50.89% of the total.

According to the BiH Agency for Statistics, the number of employed persons in BiH in April 2026 amounted to 851 918, of whom 391 561 were women.  Compared to March 2026, the total number of employed persons increased by 0.2%, while the number of employed women also increased by 0.2%.

According to the results of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) for the first quarter of 2026, the labour force in BiH (economically active population) comprised 1 393 000 people and the number of inactive people amounted to 1 476 000. 

The labour force comprised 1 235 000 people in work and 159 000 unemployed people. The LFS unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2026 was substantially lower than the administrative one and it stood at 11.4% at the level of BiH.

The number of employed persons in the first quarter of 2026 was lower by 3.7% compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, while the number of the unemployed decreased by 1.2%.

The unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2026 stood at 11.4% and it was higher by 0.3 percentage points compared to the fourth quarter of 2025 (11.1%).  The LFS employment rate in the first quarter of 2026 stood at 43.0% and it was lower by 1.6 percentage points compared to the fourth quarter of 2025 (44.6%).

The youth (aged 15-24) unemployment rate in BiH in the first quarter of 2026 was 30.1%, and it was higher by 2.2 percentage points compared to the fourth quarter of 2025 (27.9%).