In 2023, the labor force in Bosnia and Herzegovina consisted of 1.377 million people, of which 1.196 million (86.8 percent) were employed and 181 thousand (13.2 percent) were unemployed.
Compared to the previous year, the number of employed persons increased by 2.9 percent, while the number of unemployed persons decreased by 14.1 percent. The number of persons outside the labor force in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2023 amounted to 1.501 million and decreased by 0.8 percent compared to the previous quarter. In 2023, the activity rate was 47.8 percent, the employment rate 41.5 percent, the unemployment rate 13.2 percent, and the inactivity rate 52.2 percent.
According to the data from the Labor Force Survey in 2023, which is prepared by the BiH Statistics Agency together with the entity’s statistical institutes, of the total number of persons who make up the labor force, 840 thousand (61.0 percent) are men, and 537 thousand (39, 0 percent) are women. In the total number of persons outside the labor force, 564 thousand (37.6 percent) are men, and 937 thousand (62.4 percent) are women. Of the total number of employed persons, 748 thousand (62.6 percent) are men, and 447 thousand (37.4 percent) are women, while of the total number of unemployed persons, 91 thousand (50.5 percent) are men, and 90 thousand (49 .5 percent) are women.
In the observed period, of the total labor force, 66.0 percent of persons belong to the age group from 25 to 49 years, followed by 26.1 percent from the age group from 50 to 64 years, 6.7 percent from the age group from 15 to 24 years and 1.2 percent are 65 and older.
Of the total population outside the labor force, 39.0 percent of people are in the age group of 65 and over, followed by 24.6 percent of people in the age group of 50 to 64 years, 18.4 percent of people in the age group of 15 to 24 years and 18.0 percent of people in the age group of 25 to 49 years.
Of the total number of employed persons, 66.2 percent of persons belong to the age group from 25 to 49 years, then 27.1 percent to the age group from 50 to 64 years, 5.4 percent to the age group from 15 to 24 years and 1.3 percent are 65 and more years. Of the total number of unemployed persons, 64.6 percent belong to the age group from 25 to 49 years, then 19.7 percent to the age group from 50 to 64 years, 15.3 percent to the age group from 15 to 24 years and 0.3 percent are 65 and more years.
The largest share in the educational structure of the workforce is people with completed high school and specialization, 69.2 percent, followed by people with completed higher education, university, master’s degree, doctorate, 21.5 percent and people with completed elementary school or lower by education, 9.3 percent. The largest participation in the educational structure of persons outside the labor force is held by persons with completed primary school or lower education 48.9 percent, followed by persons with completed secondary school and specialization 45.4 percent and persons with completed higher school, college, master’s degree, doctorate 5, 8 percent. The educational structure of employed persons shows that 69.3 percent of persons have completed high school and specialization, followed by persons with completed higher school, university, master’s degree, doctorate 22.5 percent and persons with completed elementary school or lower education 8.3 percent. The educational structure of the unemployed shows that 69.0 percent of people have completed high school and specialization, followed by people with completed elementary school or lower education 16.0 percent and people with completed higher school, university, master’s degree, doctorate 15.0 percent.
In 2023, of the total number of unemployed persons, 47 thousand or 26.1 percent were looking for a job for less than 12 months, while 29 thousand or 15.9 percent were looking for a job from 12 months to two years. The number of unemployed people who have been looking for a job for two years or longer was 105 thousand or 57.9 percent.
