Schools working in cooperation with business can reduce the number of youth at risk of long-term unemployment if teachers and school administrators are willing to learn from research developed outside the field of public education and if schools are substantially restructured to meet student needs. A review of the literature of labor economics and employment and training reveals data that define the problem of chronic youth unemployment as well as strategies to reduce that risk. The economy's requirements for education have risen faster than the educational levels of the young. Jobs now require the social, communication, and interpersonal skills that are acquired through informal and formal schooling. However, youth have no more trouble finding work than adults when they have met the following preconditions: (1) developed sound basic academic skills; (2) received a high school degree; and (3) had substantial work experience as teenagers. Educational programs that develop these skills include the following features: (1) competency-based remedial programs; (2) computer-assisted instruction; (3) small, supportive environments; (4) summer programs that combine education and employment; (5) social services integrated into the school program; (6) increased student control over the pace, content, and style of the program; and (7) a clear and concrete connection between school performance and employment. A grade-by-grade description of how the high school years might be restructured to incorporate these features is included. A list of five references and a brief description of Research for Better Schools (RBS), a non-profit, educational research and development firm, are appended. (FMW)