At the end of last year, we were hit by a wave of rising prices for basic foodstuffs. First, flour, coffee, oil, and oil products became more expensive. Prices of products and services in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), which are used for personal consumption, measured by the consumer price index in April alone, increased by 2.4 percent on average compared to the previous month. The consumer basket for a family of four amounted to almost 2.500 BAM, while the average salary was almost twice as low. How to survive?
We often say that the citizens of BiH are real magicians in survival. First, the pandemic and now the crisis caused by the war in Ukraine affected all aspects of life. The trade union consumer basket calculated by the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of BiH for April 2022 amounts to 2.493.84 BAM and is 73.88 BAM more expensive than the trade union consumer basket last month. The average salary paid in the Federation of BiH (FBiH) for February 2022 was 1.046.00 BAM, which is also the latest data published by the Federal Bureau of Statistics. The coverage of the union consumer basket with the average salary is 41.94%.
When making the union consumer basket, the average salary paid in the FBiH was taken into account, as well as the minimum living costs of a family of four consisting of two adults and two children, one of who is in high school and the other in primary school.
In just three years, we have found ourselves in two global crises. They had a negative effect on global chains of production, supply, and trade, which is reflected in the lives of ordinary citizens through the rise in prices of basic foodstuffs, medicines, construction materials, but also almost all other services. Unlike the beginning of the pandemic, when a huge number of workers lost their jobs, the situation has partially improved. But there is still a big gap between the employed and the unemployed. In March this year, the number of unemployed persons in BiH was 371.000. If we compare it with March last year, it is about 8.5% less. The largest number of unemployed persons is with high education and qualified worker (KV) qualifications – more than 118.000, followed by persons with secondary education and persons with no qualification with more than 100.000. The rest are semi-qualified and people with higher education. It is also worrying that almost 60% of the unemployed are women.
In the same month this year, the number of employees was slightly higher than 841.000. Compared to February this year, the number of employed persons increased by 0.2%, and the number of employed women by 0.5%. Most employees were in the manufacturing industry, a total of 170.058, and in wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles. The lowest number of employees in March this year was in the real estate business – only 3.266, according to the BiH Agency for Statistics.
In recent months, consumers have been exposed not only to the rise in prices of almost all products but also to a number of other factors such as quality, non-compliance with margins, and, in the opinion of many, too few penalties. And the media has greatly contributed to the panic among citizens. Panic purchases of fuel and flour have led to shortages in stores. Given all the data presented, we recommend citizens continue to be magicians. Of course, politicians are also citizens of BiH, but they only need a magic wand for their personal interests, Federalna writes.
E.Dz.
