This report presents statistics on the high unemployment rate of Hispanic youth, examines reasons for it, evaluates Federal government response to the problem, and discusses policy implications. Minority youth bear a disproportionate burden of unemployment. Among the barriers to Hispanic youth's successful participation in the labor market are low levels of educational attainment, a very high dropout rate, and a very high incidence of poverty. In 1985, while the total annual unemployment rate for youth was 18.6%, the unemployment rate for Black youth was 40.2%; for Hispanic youth, 24.3%; and White youth, 15.7%. The 1985 employment-population ratio (the percentage of the population actually employed) of Hispanic youth was only 33.7%, with Puerto Rican youth experiencing the lowest employment-population ratios (24.2%) and Cuban youth the highest (37%) among Hispanic sub-groups. This ratio declined 16.6% between 1978 and 1985, as compared to a 7.4% decline for White youth, and a 2% decline for Black youth. Federal responses to the unemployment of minority youth have been inadequate and ineffective--the Job Training Partnership Act, for example, has served job-ready participants rather than those in need of more extensive job training and basic education. For Hispanics, the Federal inattention to the needs of school dropouts is a particularly grave concern. Recent cutbacks in Federal job training funds must be reversed to prevent high unemployment and an under-trained work force. Tables and graphs are provided, as well as endnotes and a 10-item reference list of additional employment and training resources. (KH)