The rules of the game in the market have changed "supply and demand": Increasingly higher wages for shadow professions, practice is valued.

With such experience and a quick review of job advertisements, a new trend can be observed where professions that have long been in the shadows have become more in demand and better paid.

Thus, advertisements can be seen where salaries for salespeople hover around the minimum wage of 1,000 BAM, while qualified craftsmen reach from 2,000 to 3,000 BAM, and hairdressers, depending on experience and engagement, achieve incomes that often exceed the average, which in BiH ranges from 1,500 BAM.

This has also led to an interesting twist in the labor market, as what was once considered a "safe path" to a quality and well-paid job through formal education has not been the case for some time.

The Association of Employers in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina explained to Klix.ba that this can largely be explained by the "supply and demand" relationship in the labor market.

"We have been warning about this trend for years and proposing concrete changes and improvements. The labor market increasingly clearly shows that salary levels are largely determined by the supply and demand for certain professions, not exclusively by the formal level of education," they stated.

They add that there is a noticeable shortage of workers in numerous craft and service professions, such as craftsmen, hairdressers, construction workers, cooks, hospitality workers, drivers...

However, the long-standing problem of neglecting vocational education should not be overlooked. The Association of Employers of the FBiH emphasizes that this has also led to a shortage of qualified craftsmen, which in turn has increased interest in these deficit professions.

They note that this is the reason for the salary increase in these sectors.

"When the supply of labor in a certain profession is limited, and the demand from employers is high, a natural increase in the price of labor, i.e., salaries in those sectors, occurs," they highlight.

It is also necessary to mention demographic trends, labor migration to neighboring countries and European Union countries, as well as changes in the structure of the economy and labor market.

Employers warn that this further reduces the availability of workers in certain professions and increases their market value.