Labour market overview, 30 September 2025

As of 30 September 2025, 316 159 people were registered as unemployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  Compared to a month earlier, the number of the unemployed is lower by 5 962 persons or 1.85%.  Of the total number of job seekers, 188 311 or 59.56% were women.  Compared to the same period a year earlier, unemployment in BiH decreased by 8 553 persons or 2.63%. 

Unemployment decreased by 5 162 persons (1.99%) in the FBiH and by 981 persons (1.92%) in the RS, while it increased by 181 persons (1.55%) in the BD BiH.  

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

Unskilled workers: 91 450 or 28.93%, comprising 36 263 (28.36%) men and 55 187 (29.31%) women

Semi-skilled workers/low educational background: 4 175 or 1.32%, comprising 1 952 (1.53%) men and 2 223 (1.18%) women

Skilled workers: 99 331 or 31.42%, comprising 50 127 (39.21%) men and 49 204 (26.13%) women

Highly skilled workers: 612 or 0.19%, comprising 452 (0.35%) men and 160 (0.08%) women

Secondary school qualifications: 91 016 or 28.79%, comprising 30 578 (23.92%) men and 60 438 (32.09%) women

Two-year post-secondary education: 4 642 or 1.47%, comprising 1 535 (1.20%) men and 3 107 (1.65%) women

University degree: 24 933 or 7.89%, comprising 6 941 (5.43%) men and 17 992 (9.55%) women

Within the total number of registered unemployed people, 12 836 were newly added to the register in September 2025, of whom 6 701 were women.  The total number of people who were deregistered amounted to 18 845, of whom 10 987 were women.  Of the total number of people who were deregistered, 12 045 or 63.92% were placed in jobs, of whom 7 425 or 61.64% were women.  

In September 2025, employers reported 3 475 new vacancies to public employment services in BiH, of which 660 were for women. At the same time, the registered number of people whose employment terminated during the reported period amounted to 8 942.  The registered number of women whose employment terminated during the reporting period was 4 702 or 52.58%.

According to the BiH Agency for Statistics, the number of people in paid work in BiH in August 2025 amounted to 845 526, of whom 384 667 were women.  Compared to July 2025, the total number of people in work decreased by 0.6% and the number of women in work decreased by 0.9%. 

According to the results of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) for the second quarter of 2025, the labour force in BiH (economically active population) comprised 1 405 000 people and the number of inactive people amounted to 1 468 000. 

The labour force comprised 1 221 000 people in work and 184 000 unemployed people. The LFS unemployment rate in the second quarter of 2025 was substantially lower than the administrative one and it stood at 13.1% at the level of BiH.

The number of people in work in the second quarter of 2025 decreased by 1.1% compared to the first quarter of 2025, while the number of the unemployed increased by 2.8%.

The unemployment rate in the second quarter stood at 13.1% and it was higher compared to the first quarter of 2025 (12.6%) by 0.5 percentage points.  The LFS employment rate in the second quarter of 2025 stood at 42.5% and it was lower by 0.4 percentage points compared to the first quarter of 2025 (42.9%).

The youth (aged 15-24) unemployment rate in BiH in the second quarter of 2025 was 33.9%, which is an increase of 3.7 percentage point compared to the first quarter of 2025 (30.2%).

The youth unemployment rate (aged 15-24) in BiH stood at 30.4% in the second quarter of 2024 and compared to the first quarter (27.4%) it increased by 3.0 percentage points.