This paper explores educational stratification of unemployment in early labor market career; its institutional embeddedness in specific education and employment systems; and youth unemployment in France (F), the United Kingdom (UK), and West Germany (G), which greatly differ relative to major institutional characteristics of education systems and labor markets. Analyses use national Labor Force Surveys data to assess recent trends. The paper relies on single-stage and sequential logit models to estimate effects of individual educational achievement on unemployment risks and presents evidence of a sharp distinction between the educational stratification observed in G, F, and the UK. Findings indicate the following: (1) labor market entry occurs smoothly and immediately for vocationally qualified leavers in G, with extensive search for first jobs confined to the least qualified; (2) after initial employment in G, education plays a negligible role for risk of unemployment, which is more tied to features of employment positions; (3) in F and the UK, the match between qualifications and jobs is less clear-cut and level of education provides advantages in terms of less search unemployment and lower job instability, yet differentiation is much less pronounced; (4) in F and UK, education effects maintain positive impacts on job stability, suggesting a more gradual match between qualifications and attainment; and (5) results are stable for both time periods, indicating idiosyncratic changes in the educational stratification of youth unemployment. (Contains 58 references.) (YLB)