Unemployment as Perceived and Experienced by Unemployed Young People in Croatia

Out of 937 unemployed young persons in Croatia who handed in the filled questionnaire regarding unemployment, 48% of them wrote a personal comment to the last question: Would you like to add something with regard to unemployment or this questionnaire? Six categories related to unemployment of young people were isolated by means of qualitative analysis (reasons of inability to find work, working conditions, attitude toward work, consequences of unemployment, attitude toward the future and suggestions for improvement of the situation). The notions pertaining to all the categories are supported by verbatim quotations from participants as well as relevant numerical indicators. The participants in the study most frequently reflected upon the reasons of inability to find work in Croatia today. By means of grounded theory method it can be concluded that the participants in the study perceive their personal unemployment as unjust; they feel that they are treated unequally and that they are discriminated since they consider themselves as victims of the situation in their country. It is from 'the state', i.e. different state and political structures, that they expect the strongest support in dealing with such a situation. Adapted from the source document.