BiH has 855,000 employed, 755,000 pensioners, and 320,000 unemployed

(Patria) - At the end of April, there were 320,763 unemployed persons in BiH registered with employment bureaus and services, according to data from the BiH Employment Agency.

Regarding the number of employed in RS, this number is around 290,000, while at the end of May in FBiH there were 546,129 employed. In RS, the number of pensioners is approximately the same, and according to data from April, this number is 289,000. FBiH has a slightly better ratio of working-age population to pensioners. At the end of May, the number of pension beneficiaries was 458,632. In Brčko District, the number of pensioners is around 10,000, while the number of employed is around 22,000.

According to data from the BiH Statistics Agency, in March 2025, the number of employed persons in BiH was 854,831, of which 390,747 were women. Compared to February 2025, the number of employed persons decreased by 0.3%, and the number of employed women also decreased by 0.3%.

This data is not encouraging. The ratio of the working-age population to pensioners must be at least 1:1.5, and optimally 1:2. If the trend of young people and the working-age population leaving BiH continues, importing labor will be a dire necessity. According to the structure of the working-age population, a significant increase in the number of pensioners is expected in the next five years.

The structure of persons seeking employment, as of April 30, 2025, is as follows:

Unskilled 93,718 or 29.28%, of which 37,353 (28.73%) men and 56,365 (29.67%) women;
Semi-skilled/basic education 4,347 or 1.36%, of which 2,048 (1.58%) men and 2,299 (1.21%) women;
Skilled 100,329 or 31.35%, of which 50,769 (39.04%) men and 49,560 (26.08%) women;
Highly skilled 676 or 0.21%, of which 506 (0.39%) men and 170 (0.09%) women;
Secondary education 90,940 or 28.42%, of which 30,525 (23.48%) men and 60,415 (31.80%) women;
Higher vocational education 4,879 or 1.52%, of which 1,659 (1.28%) men and 3,220 (1.69%) women;
University degree 25,147 or 7.86%, of which 7,171 (5.51%) men and 17,976 (9.46%) women.