This report examines the potential pool of workers in nine rural New York and Pennsylvania counties, the characteristics of this labor pool, and barriers that make it difficult for these individuals to enter the workplace. The counties studied make up the southern tier of New York State (Broome, Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga, and Tompkins Counties) and the northern tier of Pennsylvania (Bradford, Tioga, and Susquehanna Counties). The potential labor pool investigated included unemployed persons actively seeking work, discouraged workers (unemployed people not actively seeking work but willing to work if a job was available), and involuntary part-time workers (persons working part-time who would prefer to work full-time). Data were collected from the Department of Labor, the Job Training Partnership Act Program, a telephone survey, and personal interviews with employment professionals. Results indicate an oversupply of labor in the region. Workers suffering most from the poor economic environment in the local labor market were the low-skilled and low-educated workers; nontraditional workers; and older mid-level managers, technicians, and professionals who had been displaced by corporate restructuring and defense cutbacks. Employment barriers included lack of jobs due to layoffs, plant closings, defense industry cutbacks, and slow recovery from the national recession; transportation problems; low pay of available jobs; lack of education; rising skill requirements of entry-level positions; poor on-the-job behaviors; low self-esteem; youth or age; and lack of child care. Appendices contain data tables, interview format, and survey instrument. (KS)