The purpose of the study was to recognize the problems and health behaviours of the unemployed and to determine their influence on the health status of the people staying out of work. The studies were conducted in the period from January to April 2002 among 200 people registered in the Municipal and District Employment Office in Lublin.

The research method was a diagnostic sounding and the technique applied - a polling questionnaire.

The obtained data were analysed statistically. The initial analysis of the results indicates that lack of work and deteriorating living conditions negatively influence the health condition and the development of proper health behaviours of the examined. The prolonged unemployment brought about the deterioration of physical and psychical condition in the studied group. The most frequent psycho-somatic disorders were: headache, stomachache, nausea and vomiting, pain in the chest, lack of appetite and sleeping disorders. As the results show joblessness leads to psychological problems, diseases of circulatory and/or alimentary systems. Further analysis of the results shows that a difficult financial situation of the majority of the examined people forces them to reduce the purchase of more expensive (i.e. more nutritious and more varied) products, which definitely influences their nutrition. The study shows that the unemployed have an unhealthy diet. In the majority of cases the diet is monotonous, poor in protein, fruit and vegetables. Lack of job and stress resulting from it cause the occurrence of numerous unhealthy addictions. The most prevailing among the unemployed are tobacco smoking and alcohol abuse. The obtained study results show that the formation and fixation of such kinds of behaviour cause many serious consequences for the health of the unemployed.