The topic of unemployment is present in everyday life, but the question arises as to why unemployment occurs at all and what are the consequences? Unemployment depends on various factors and can have consequences not only on the economy but also on the people themselves. In addition to the negative consequences on the economy, unemployment also has negative effects on the human psyche. This paper studies how unemployment affects society as a whole and how employers also distort a person’s image of themselves. Attention is also paid to the most common problem that countries face when it comes to emigration. The analysis of statistical data allows us to better understand the movement of unemployment and the structure itself according to age, gender and level of education. It is common knowledge that unemployment is one of the biggest problems in Croatia, despite the gradual decline in the unemployment rate in recent years. The paper reveals that one of the biggest reasons for the decrease in unemployment is not the increase in the number of employees, but on the contrary, that the decrease in the number of unemployed is largely due to the emigration of the population. Thus, in addition to the theory related to unemployment, the problem of large emigration of the Croatian population is being studied, in this case the departure of the population to the Republic of Ireland. Possible reasons for searching for jobs in Ireland are stated, which make it a better place to live compared to Croatia. Also, the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 will greatly change the situation on the labor market, so there are certain measures mentioned that countries are already implementing today to alleviate the problems of those who lost their jobs due to the pandemic, as well as predicting the economic future of the two countries.