Abstract:The aim of this paper is to study the developments and trends in higher education. The mission of universities is to develop harmonious personality, knowledge, wisdom, goodness, and creativity in a person and to contribute to the development of education, science, culture and health for the welfare of the whole society. It is necessary to pay attention to changing trends in the labor market in connection with the introduction of new technologies and the creation of new jobs as well as the changing requirements of employers in order to fulfill this mission. Despite falling unemployment, it is still necessary to pay significant attention to the preparation of the new workforce which enters the labor market and mainly to the education of a highly qualified workforce that is required by the labor market. The authors are dedicated to education itself as well as educational trends, they sought to underpin the theoretical background of education through statistical indicators. The authors used a time series analysis for the identification of trends and changes of the monitored parameters. They used a regression analysis for the prognosis of trends and have been using the index of correlation and determination for the choice of the most probable future development. It is essential that the training of the workforce for the labor market and the education sector respond to the changes in a flexible manner. The conventional way of education will become substandard over several years, not only the content but also a technological transformation will be required.

The economic development of Slovakia, as well as other former socialist countries, was largely marked by the transition from a centrally planned economy to a market economy. This process was long and difficult. Post-socialist countries were forced to adopt a broad complex of political, social, economic and institutional reforms that made the business environ­ment in the country more attractive and strengthened economic growth. This process of transformation continues and despite progress there is room for further improvement even in the most developed post-socialist coun­tries. In addition, the economy of individual countries, as well as the world economy, is currently significantly affected by the ongoing pandemic, and it has also been negatively affected by the war conflict in Ukraine and the emerging energy crisis. In the article, we will focus on evaluating and comparing the development and economic situation of former socialist countries that have since become members of the European Union. Based on selected macroeconomic indica­tors, we will assess the level of the economy of individual countries. Subse­quently, we will use the ranking method and compile and evaluate the rank­ing of the analyzed countries.

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Small and medium-sized enterprises are considered to be the most flexible, efficient and most advanced forms of enterprise within developed economies. They are characterized by high dynamics of development, adaptability to changing market requirements, flexibility and narrow specialization. They quickly adapt and respond sensitively to the change. Small and medium-sized enterprises can be considered to be holders of innovation, employment, social and regional integration. They guarantee higher efficiency and sustainable growth of the country's economy. For this reason, the countries devote maximum attention to the state of small and medium-sized enterprises and are constantly taking measures for their development. In Slovakia, more than 90% of all businesses are small and medium-sized enterprises. The aim of the paper is to evaluate the development of small and medium enterprises in the Slovak Republic and to assess their financial performance using financial analysis indicators.

Every country and its economy has undergone some historical development and is going through it even nowadays, constantly evolving. Today, however, individual changes occur more frequently, are dynamic and have a larger dimension. Technology has accelerated processes and information exchange. The economies of states can no longer function in isolation, because we are at a time where the division of labour is not only of European but also of global character. This work focuses on the development of selected macroeconomic indicators, mainly employment and unemployment of two Slavic states of Slovakia and Slovenia. The size of the area and the number of inhabitant’s ranks among the small states of Europe, they have similar geographical and demographic conditions. However, the development of the economy seems different, which is the subject of this paper. To compare the development of macroeconomic variables of the above-mentioned states, the data were drawn from the published data of the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic, the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia and Eurostat. To evaluate the year-on-year changes in selected indicators, the relative indices were used.