For economic structure most important are the following economic characteristics: profession, position in profession and economic activity.
The overall rate of activity as the quotient between labour-active population and total population shows the percentage share of labour-active population in the total population. The figures showing labour-active population shares recorded in the 1971, 1981, and 1991 censuses in B&H (Population, comparable data for 1971, 1981 and 1991, Statistical Bulletin 265, Sarajevo, 1988) state that the growth rate of labour-active population was 1.502%, self-employed persons 4.934% and dependants -0.373%.
The overall rate of activity in this period was 34.6% in 1971, 37.7% in 1981 and 40.7% in 1991. Having taken the above percentages into account, it can be concluded that the share of labour-active population in the total population of the Republic of Srpska in 1991 was about 43.5%.
Taking into account that in the private sector only persons employed in privately-owned shops are covered, the following conclusions can be derived:
- the largest number of the employed is still in the state sector of economy. According to official data this share is very high, around 90%. When the structure of domestic product in the Republic of Srpska in which the state sector had a share of 45.78% in 1998 and private 42.86% is considered, then it is clear that the share of the employed in the private sector is much higher, at least twice as high in comparison with the number of registered employees in privately-owned shops (8.2%), so it can be estimated that the share of the employed in the state sector is between 75% and 80%.
- the largest number of the employed is in industry (37.71%)
- according to the data on employment by the economic sectors one can notice the high share of the employed in the socio-political associations and organizations (9.69%), trade (8.57%), education, science, culture and media (7.41%).
- it is realistic to consider that the share of the employed in agriculture is higher than the official data show when all problems relating to registering the employed in agriculture are considered. This conclusion is particularly supported by the structure of the GDP for the Republic of Srpska in which in 1999 the industry had a share of 21.86% and agriculture 23.78%. It can also be concluded that the share of agriculture in the GDP is on the constant downward path and is 5.332% in the Republic of Srpska which indicates the decrease in the number of employed in agriculture.
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The structure of population by qualification, which is given in Table 9, is of particular importance due to the fact that production depends not only on the number of employees but their qualifications as well. In the Republic of Srpska the employed with high school and skilled workers predominate accounting for 54.85% of the total number of the employed in stateowned and social enterprises. It is then logical that the share of masters and doctors of science is only 0.44%.
