Labour market overview, situation as of 31 December 2024

As of 31 December 2024, 320 696 people were registered as unemployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  Compared to a month earlier, the number of the unemployed decreased by 1 216 or 0.38%.  Of the total number of job seekers, 190 094 or 59.28% were women.  Compared to the same period a year earlier, the unemployment level in BiH decreased by 22 804 or 6.64%. 

Unemployment level fell by 238 (0.09%) in the FBiH, by 885 (1.27%) in RS, and by 93 persons (0.79%) in the BD BiH.

The structure of job seekers as of 31 December 2024 is as follows:

Unskilled workers: 94 057 or 29.33%, comprising 37 556 (28.76%) men and 56 501 (29.72%) women

Semi-skilled workers/low educational background: 4 478 or 1.40%, comprising 2 106 (1.61%) men and 2 372 (1.25%) women

Skilled workers: 100 182 or 31.21%, comprising 50 868 (38.90%) men and 49 314 (25.93%) women

Highly skilled workers: 723 or 0.22%, comprising 557 (0.42%) men and 166 (0.09%) women

Secondary school qualifications: 90 917 or 28.45%, comprising 30 632 (23.64%) men and 60 285 (31.75%) women

Two-year post-secondary education: 4 994 or 1.54%, comprising 1 686 (1.27%) men and 3 308 (1.73%) women

University degree: 25 345 or 7.93%, comprising 7 197 (5.58%) men and 18 148 (9.54%) women

Within the total number of registered unemployed people, 10 339 were newly added to the register in December 2024, of whom 5 171 were women.  The total number of people who were deregistered amounted to 11 641, of whom 5 909 were women.  Of the total number of people who were deregistered, 6 864 or 59.00% were placed in jobs, of whom 3 599 or 52.43% were women.  

In December 2024, employers reported 2 187 new vacancies to public employment services in BiH, of which 468 were for women, while the registered number of people whose employment was terminated during the reported period amounted to 7 958.  The registered number of women whose employment was terminated during the reporting period was 3 959 or 49.75%.

According to the BiH Agency for Statistics, the number of people in paid work in BiH amounted to 859 261 in November 2024, of whom 392 311 were women.  Compared to October 2024, the total number of people in work increased by 0.1%, and the number of women in paid work increased by 0.2%. 

According to the results of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) for the third quarter of 2024, the labour force in BiH (economically active population) comprised 1 427 000 people and the number of inactive people amounted to 1 449 000. 

The labour force included 1 254 000 people in employment and 173 000 unemployed people. The LFS unemployment rate was substantially lower than the administrative rate and it stood at 12.2% for the third quarter of 2024 at the level of BiH.

The number of people in work in the third quarter of 2024 increased by 2.5% compared to the second quarter, while the number of the unemployed decreased by 7.5%.

The unemployment rate in BiH stood at 12.2% in the third quarter of 2024 and it was lower compared to the second quarter of 2024 (13.3%) by 1.1 percentage points.  The LFS employment rate in the third quarter of 2024 stood at 43.6% and it increased by 1.1 percentage points compared to the second quarter of 2024 (42.5%).

The youth (aged 15-24) unemployment rate in BiH stood at 31.4% in the third quarter of 2024 and compared to the second quarter (30.4%) it increased by 1.0 percentage point.