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The aim of the study was to examine the relation between long-term unemployment, quality of life and the variables of age, gender, education and unemployment duration. The SEIQoL (Schedule for the Evaluation of Individual Quality of Life) method developed by C. A. Boyle, H. McGee and C. K. B. Joyce was used to measure individual evaluation of quality of life. A sample of 1957 respondents was inquired, including 966 long-term unemployed, a control sample of 949 employed people, 22 homeless and 20 unemployed mothers after maternity leave. Structured interviews with the first two groups were conducted throughout the territory of the Czech Republic, while the interviews with the homeless people and the unemployed mothers after maternity leave in Moravian and Silesian regions. The results of the inquiry showed that: 1. Remarkable similarities exist in the ranking by importance of the quality of life profile in both the employed and unemployed respondents family, health, work, peace of mind and interpersonal relations. In the homeless people and unemployed mothers after maternity leave, a different ranking of cues was established given by their current status. 2. As a result of job loss, the important cues are given different relative frequencies of semantic meaning as well as different ranking. 3. Long-term unemployment has a negative effect on the overall individual evaluation of quality of life, satisfaction with the individual cues and view of life's meaningfulness. 4. Correlation analyses have confirmed statistically significant links between the quality of life cues/satisfaction with them and the variables of age, gender, education and duration of unemployment among both the employed and unemployed. 5. Duration of unemployment has a significantly negative correlation with education (-0.226; p0. 01). With education, the time of unemployment decreases, while the importance of personal growth increases and satisfaction with life and peace of mind increase. Educated people "better" cope with job loss. 6. Unemployed men find coping with worsened financial status more difficult than women. They significantly more often compensate lost work by interests and hobbies. 7. In older men, experiencing unemployment has a heavier impact on meaningfulness of life as unemployment prolongs than in any other unemployed groups. 8. ANOVA results established statistically significant differences in the average quality of life figures for the individual cues family, health, work, peace of mind, interpersonal relations, hobbies, interests, personal growth, money, housing as well as in satisfaction with them, both between men and women in general (regardless of their employment status) and between unemployed men and women.
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