Information based on a longitudinal study indicates that white high school and college graduates earn more than white high school dropouts and that black high school graduates earn more than black high school dropouts. However, the base for the two groups is not the same and the prestige jobs available to each is different. Also, the long-run advantages of a college education have decreased significantly. The implications of these statistics are more related to the labor market than they are to the educational establishment. The number of low-paying, dead-end, low-skill jobs are increasing at a much faster rate than high-prestige, high-paying jobs. This has resulted in an oversupply of workers qualified for professional and technical occupations. A three-pronged policy thrust is needed if job opportunities are to be opened for black youth: instruction in the public schools must be upgraded, affirmative action minority hiring programs and public policy must be developed, and the sophistication to recognize that worsening employment opportunities decrease the effectiveness of educational opportunity programs must be developed. (TJ)