Although youth between the ages of 16 and 19 account for only 6.7 percent of the nation's labor force, they constitute 17.9 percent of the officially unemployed. Unemployment among youth is rising. More than 46 percent of the nation's black youth and nearly 39 percent of Hispanic children currently live below the poverty level. Moreover, real youth unemployment may be substantially higher inasmuch as the official jobless rate masks the problems of underemployment and persons who have given up searching for a job. A direct correlation exists between family income and the labor force experience of youth. Despite consistent findings that employment experience during high school significantly improves the labor market success of young persons as they move to adulthood, students from poor families have substantially below-average labor force participation rates. Even among dropouts, the correlation between employment status and family income is strong. Policymakers should reinforce the connection between education and employment in every feasible way, including reversing the disinvestment approach of recent years, increasing educational options for potential dropouts, introducing a remediation component into the Summer Youth Program, and establishing school-to-work transition programs in all secondary schools. (Data on real joblessness among states and localities is appended.) (MN)