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In 2002, the Business Council of Australia (BCA) commissioned three pieces of research to provide an understanding of the trends associated with early school leaving, its economic impact and details of government programs in place to address this issue. In particular, the BCA was concerned with understanding the economic implications of young people leaving school early without gaining the required skills and capabilities to participate in the workforce. This report, jointly commissioned by BCA and Dusseldorp Skills Forum, reports on the education and training outcomes of young people in Australia, with special reference to early school leavers. It is structured as follows: the first section contains the introduction; section two describes the main data sources; section three describes the estimated school retention and completion rates, factors associated with early school leaving and educational and employment outcomes for early leavers; section four covers vocational education and training (VET) of teenagers; section five describes the teenage labour market; section six discusses teenagers and welfare payments; and the final section outlines some of the economic and policy implications. Findings include: about one third of young people leave school before completing Year 12; about 20% of the 15 to 19 year olds take VET each year; 30% of VET students fail to complete half their courses; and the unemployment rate for teenagers in May 2002 was 17%.