This document contains one of two reports presented at the Governor's National Forum on Youth Employment, May 22-23, 1980. Focusing on the issue of youth employment, this report is divided into seven sections. Section 1 discusses the high national youth unemployment rate. Section 2 describes a variety of factors pertinent to youth unemployment and the characteristics of the teenage labor force. Section 3 explains some of the causes for youth unemployment. The prognosis for the next decade is discussed in section 4. Section 5 presents the urban youth employment perspectives, while section 6 presents the rural youth employment perspectives. Finally, section 7 discusses the following conclusions: (1) the youth population of the 1980s is projected to decline; (2) the causes associated with youth unemployment are diverse and multifaceted; (3) our educational system is rigidly structured and serves as a deterent to an increasing number of young people; and (4) minority, inner city, and rural area youth are the segments of the labor force that will experience the bulk of youth unemployment during the 1980s. (BM)