Of particular interest in this research is the way the youths interpret their labor market experiences and how together those experiences and interpretations influence criminal behavior. Findings reveal that familial and school factors have minimal influence on current criminal behavior. Instead, criminal behavior is influenced by such immediate factors as homelessness, drug and alcohol use, and criminal peers who engage in illegal activities. Further, criminal behavior is influenced by a lack of income, job experiences, and perceptions of a blocked opportunity structure. While labor market conditions and reactions to those conditions have some effect on crime, findings suggest that lengthy unemployment, job experiences, and a lack of income work together with anger and external attributions to increase street youths' criminal activities. Notes, tables, references