A study used the National Longitudinal Surveys of Labor Force Experience Youth Cohort to determine the labor market consequences for young people of acquiring a General Educational Development (GED) degree in 1985. Three major consequences of receiving a GED were examined: labor force participation, employment status, and hourly wages. The analysis showed that GED recipients had greater chances of being labor force participants than young people without GEDs or high school diplomas. High school graduates were more likely to be participants than were GED recipients. Moreover, the more time that elapsed after obtaining a GED or a high school diploma, the greater the chance that a youth was a labor force participant. As was observed with labor force participation, the chances of being employed were much greater in 1985 for young high school graduates than for GED recipients or youths with neither a GED nor a high school diploma. Interpretation of annual salaries from hourly wages indicated that the typical GED recipient would have earned in 1985 about $780 more than a youth without a GED or diploma, but $1,340 less than a youth with a high school diploma. Further research is needed to determine what the GED means to employers, to GED recipients and aspirants, and to the general public. (KC)