BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 10. In the first quarter of 2025, the labor force in Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of 1.4 million persons, of which 1.2 million (86.6 percent) are employed and 188,000 (13.4 percent) are unemployed, according to Trend reports citing the country's Agency for Statistics.
Compared to the previous quarter, the number of employed persons decreased by 3.5 percent, and the number of unemployed persons increased by 12.8 percent. The number of persons outside the labor force in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first quarter of 2025 amounted to 1.47 million and, compared to the previous quarter, increased by 1.4 percent. In the first quarter of 2025, the activity rate was 48.7 percent, the employment rate 42.2 percent, the unemployment rate 13.4 percent, and the inactivity rate 51.3 percent.
According to data from the Labor Force Survey in the first quarter of 2025, out of the total labor force, 854,000 (60.9 percent) persons are men and 547,000 (39.1 percent) persons are women. In the total number of persons outside the labor force, 549,000 (37.3 percent) persons are men and 923,000 (62.7 percent) persons are women. Out of the total number of employed persons, 763,000 (62.9 percent) persons are men and 450,000 (37.1 percent) persons are women, while out of the total number of unemployed persons, 90,000 (48.2 percent) persons are men and 97,000 (51.8 percent) persons are women.
In the observed period, out of the total labor force, 66.2 percent of persons belong to the age group 25 - 49 years, then 26.7 percent to the age group 50 - 64 years, 5.6 percent to the age group 15 - 24 years, and 1.4 percent are persons age 65+. Out of the total population outside the labor force, 41.9 percent are age 65+, 23.1 percent belong to the age group 50–64 years, 18.9 percent to the age group 15–24 years, and 16.2 percent to the age group 25–49 years.
Out of the total number of employed persons, 66.2 percent belong to the age group 25 - 49 years, 28.0 percent to the age group 50 - 64 years, 4.2 percent to the age group 15 - 24 years, and 1.5 percent are persons age 65+. Out of the total number of unemployed persons, 66.2 percent belong to the age group 25-49 years, 18.4 percent to the age group 50-64 years, 14.8 percent to the age group 15-24 years, and 0.6 percent are persons age 65+.
The educational structure of the labor force shows that 69.3 percent of persons have finished secondary school and specialization, followed by persons who have a college, university, master's, or doctoral degree (22.2 percent) and persons with completed primary school or lower education (8.5 percent). The highest share in the educational structure of persons outside the labor force have persons who finished primary school or lower education (46.9 percent), followed by persons who completed secondary school and specialization (46.6 percent) and persons who have a college, university, master's, or doctoral degree (6.6 percent). The educational structure of persons in employment shows that 69.2 percent of persons have finished secondary school and specialization, followed by persons who have a college, university, master's, or doctoral degree (23.5 percent) and persons with completed primary school or lower education (7.3 percent). The educational structure of unemployed persons shows that 69.9 percent of persons have finished secondary education and specialization, followed by persons who have completed primary school or lower education (16.5 percent) and persons who have a college, university, master's, or doctoral degree (13.6 percent).
In the first quarter of 2025, out of the total number of unemployed persons, 45,000, or 24.2 percent, were looking for a job for less than 12 months, while 33,000, or 17.4 percent, were looking for a job from 12 months up to two years. The number of unemployed persons who were looking for a job for two years and longer was 110,000, or 58.4 percent.
