This publication is designed to increase the skills and knowledge of practicing human resource staff, private sector decision makers, and university students preparing for careers in the human resources field in the use of labor market and occupational information for policymaking and planning. Chapter 1 reviews human resource issues, concepts and programs. Chapter 2 offers detailed information on the key concepts and measures used to represent labor market activities. Chapter 3 on labor market and occupational information describes the roles of public and private sector organizations in the production of labor market information (LMI), discusses LMI data collection programs, and reviews data classification systems and data synthesis and analysis programs. A discussion of labor market and occupational information applications and issues follows. Chapter 4 focuses on the roles of labor market and occupational information in planning and implementing human resource programs. Chapter 5 demonstrates the potential uses of labor market and occupational information in designing, operating, and evaluating state and local human resource programs. Data are presented for a hypothetical state and local area. Case study materials that simulate a planning exercise and include background, tasks and exercises, tables, and an analysis are appended. (YLB)