Labour market situation as of 31 May 2025



As of 31 May 2025, 315 494 people were registered as unemployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  Compared to a month earlier, the number of the unemployed decreased by 4 542 persons or 1.42%.  Of the total number of job seekers, 187 728 or 59.50% were women.  Compared to the same period a year earlier, the unemployment level in BiH decreased by 9 023 or 2.78%. 

The unemployment level decreased by 3 606 persons (1.52%) in the FBiH, 930 persons (1.77%) in the RS and by 6 persons (0.05%) in the BD BiH.  

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

Unskilled workers: 92 797 or 29.41%, comprising 36 955 (28.92%) men and 55 842 (29.75%) women

Semi-skilled workers/low educational background: 4 296 or 1.36%, comprising 2 016 (1.58%) men and 2 280 (1.21%) women

Skilled workers: 98 908 or 31.35%, comprising 49 792 (38.97%) men and 49 116 (26.16%) women

Highly skilled workers: 650 or 0.21%, comprising 482 (0.38%) men and 168 (0.09%) women

Secondary school qualifications: 89 366 or 28.33%, comprising 29 863 (23.37%) men and 59 503 (31.70%) women

Two-year post-secondary education: 4 731 or 1.50%, comprising 1 586 (1.24%) men and 3 145 (1.68%) women

University degree: 24 746 or 7.84%, comprising 7 072 (5.54%) men and 17 674 (9.41%) women

Within the total number of registered unemployed people, 9 323 were newly added to the register in May 2025, of whom 4 722 were women.  The total number of people who were deregistered amounted to 13 918, of whom 7 031 were women.  Of the total number of people who were deregistered, 8 916 or 64.06% were placed in jobs, of whom 4 640 or 52.04% were women.  

In May 2025, employers reported 1 920 new vacancies to public employment services in BiH, of which 474 were for women. At the same time, the registered number of people whose employment terminated during the reported period amounted to 7 193.  The registered number of women whose employment terminated during the reporting period was 3 643 or 50.65%.

 

According to the BiH Agency for Statistics, the number of people in paid work in BiH amounted to 857 083 in April 2025, of whom 391 994 were women.  Compared to March 2025, the total number of people in work increased by 0.3% accompanied by an equivalent increase 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%).