Unemployment in the Slovak Republic - Its development and specific

Unemployment is a world-wide problem concerning not only transforming economics of the former East block countries but the developed market economics as well. The level of unemployment reflects the ''health'' of national economy and must be considered to be an inevitable feature of the economy based on the democratic principles. There were substantial changes in the development of unemployment in the Slovak Republic from 1990 concerning the total amount of unemployed persons and their structure. The decrease of the total amount of the unemployed in 1989-1994 (about 400 thousand persons) was accompanied by major unemployment structural changes. The best macroeconomic results reached in 1995 did not substantially influenced the total amount of the newly created labour opportunities. Even more negative seems to be the increase of unemployment in some specific groups of the unemployed: young people up to 25 years, persons without any or with low qualification and great regional differences in the unemployment. The heaviest problem is the long term unemployment lasting 12 or even more months. One of the reasons of it is the unwillingness of the unemployed to work because of the small difference between their labour income and the social benefits paid to them (being out of work). Main possibilities to solve the unemployment problem stem in the increased dynamics of new labour opportunities creation (which depends on general economic situation) and legislation which should in larger extent influence employers to employ workers from the risk groups of the unemployed population.