This paper reviews the nature of the youth employment problem by considering its causes, deterioration in the employment situation of black youth, and the number of youth facing serious employment problems. Section 1 discusses reasons for concern regarding youth unemployment. In section 2 are related normal as well as harmful experiences due to labor market outcomes. Section 3 discusses the interpretation of existing concepts and measures of youth employment patterns in terms of serious versus minor problems. Causes of youth unemployment are examined in section 4 from several perspectives. Four sections focus on (1) reasons for unemployment rate differences between youth and adults, (2) factors influencing changes over time and differences across geographic areas in youth employment patterns, (3) the changing patterns of racial differences in employment, and (4) summarizing the explanations of the youth employment problem. Section 5 presents some estimates of the numbers of youth who encounter serious employment problems using four methods. Twenty-one data tables are appended. (YLB)