The aim of this paper is to present the state of unemployment and its psychological processes and consequences, and to summarise the results of psychological tests completed by jobseekers participating in the HURO Rural Youthjobs project.
We begin by clarifying the concept of unemployment. 'Unemployment is defined as the situation in which someone is unable to find an acceptable job in the labour market for a prolonged period of time' (Hajduska 2012: 119). Another definition is that 'persons who are not employed during the (defined) reference period but are employable and make active efforts to find a job are considered unemployed' (Haugen and Bregger, 1994; cited in László et al., 1998, p. 1).

Unemployment can arise as a result of redundancies, layoffs, but it can also be caused by a protracted search among young people starting out in their careers (Hajduska, 2012) Whatever the cause, unemployment is a social phenomenon that can take many forms (Bánfalvy, 1997)