Archives of Humanities & Social Sciences Research
- ISSN: 3065-3568
Eva Dirgova, Lucia Ludvigh Cintulova* and Anna Beresova
Unemployment is a complex socio-economic phenomenon that negatively affects not only individuals, but also
their families and the wider social environment. Long-term unemployment can lead to mental and physical health
problems, with its consequences being more intense for older individuals, men and people with lower education.
The aim of the research was to analyse changes in the labour market in the post-pandemic period and to examine
their impact on the perception of the future among different age and education groups. The research was conducted
using an electronic questionnaire, with the research sample consisting of 206 respondents from different regions
of Slovakia. The main findings showed that the perception of uncertainty and fears about the future was strongest
in the category of people aged 40-50, where 52.83% of respondents desired change, 48.21% felt threatened and
46.67% felt helpless. The results also confirmed that unemployment affects women more, with up to 88.89% of long-
term unemployed (13 months or more) being women. The results confirmed the hypothesis that the post-pandemic
situation negatively affected people’s experiences and caused a pessimistic perception of the future, with the intensity
of negative feelings being higher in older individuals and in people with higher education.