As is the case with other economic and social institutions, the labor market in the Czech Republic since 1990 has undergone far-reaching changes. With the fall of communism, full employment ceased to be a political imperative. The considerable decline in production – combined with abolition of ineffective and undesirable production and also with loss of COMECOM markets - led to an immediate drop in employment. The growth of unemployment in 1997 has signaled what is likely to be a long-term trend. The growth of specific rates of unemployment among certain social groups signals the growth of the rise of their marginalization on the labor market.