This literature review is part of a project designed to provide an in-depth picture of the experiences and views of long-term unemployed people in Australia. The review outlines what the research shows and says about the situation of young people (15-24 years) in work and education in the changing society of the 1980s in Australia. The book is organized into five parts containing 14 chapters in all. Part 1, "Youth in the Changing Society," provides a context for later discussion. Its two chapters make the point that the difficulties which young people now encounter in making an easy transition from education to work spring not from deficiencies in young people themselves or in their "preparation for work," but from the fact that society itself is in transition. Part 2 (chapter 3-6), "The Youth Labour Market," presents an overview of the experiences of youth in the labor market. Part 3 (chapters 7-10), "Educating Young People," describes government policies and programs for young people during the last decade. Part 4 (chapters 11-13), "Some Who are Vulnerable," deals with the situation of three particular groups of disadvantaged young people: girls and women, migrants, and Aboriginal people. Part 5 (chapter 14), "And Now Where Am I?" attempts to draw together some of the main threads of the discussion. The chapter reiterates the need to recognize current change as fundamental and structural, shaping a society quite different from that which developed from the 19th century industrial revolution. An extensive bibliography is included, along with an appendix that contains information on the national longitudinal studies that provided data for this report. (DB)