Bosnia’s Council of Ministers adopted the Information of the Directorate for Economic Planning of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the movement of macroeconomic indicators for the period January - October 2023 during its Monday session.

According to statistical data, the growth of economic activity continued in 2023 but was significantly slower compared to the previous year due to rising prices, weakening economic growth in trading partner countries and partly the effect of the high salary base from the previous year. The key pillar of economic growth is domestic demand through increased consumption and partly investment, the Information states among other things.

On the other hand, the trend of slowing economic activity continued. In that period, a decline was registered in the physical volume of industrial production, a decline in production within the processing industry and mining, while a slight growth was recorded within the electricity production sector.

The annual growth rate of the number of employed persons has been slowing down since the beginning of the year due to the decrease in the number of employees in certain industries, such as the processing industry. The growth of the total number of employed persons was mostly supported by the increase in the number of employees in the areas of trade, education, accommodation and food preparation and service, as well as information and communication activities.

The average net salary in September 2023 was higher compared to the same month of the previous year but with slower growth of the private sector due to inflation.

Due to the weakening of economic growth and demand in Bosnia’s export markets of the European Union, the country recorded a decline in goods exports in the period January-October 2023. On the other hand, the growth of world and consumer prices hurt domestic demand, which resulted in a decrease in the import of goods to BiH. As a result of such trends in the movement of export and import of goods, the total goods deficit in the period January – October 2023 was slightly higher compared to the same period of the previous year.