By Juliana Vadnais, Data Journalist at Albuquerque Business First:

For young adults in America, jobs may not be the top-most priority and this shows in a study that looks at employment rates across the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the country.

The employment rate among teens in Albuquerque is 31.6 percent, just above the national average of 29 percent.

Brookings Institute, a District of Columbia-based nonprofit research firm, analyzed employment trends among teens 16-19 and young adults 20-24 using microdata data from the American Community Survey from 2008-2014. It also compares these rates to prime-age workers, those who are 25-54.

Young adults, the 20-24 age group, have an employment rate in Albuquerque of 67.5 percent. This also is just over the national average of 65 percent.

While the employment rates for area teens and young adults aren't necessarily high, they are above the national average, something prime-age adults can't say. Albuquerque ranked in the top 10 for lowest employment rates in that age group at 72 percent. The national average is 77 percent.

Madison, Wisconsin, had the highest employment rates across the board: 50 percent for teens, 79 percent for young adults and 86 percent for prime-age adults.

The study also analyzed data for "disconnected youth" or those who are neither working nor in school. In Albuquerque, disconnected youth make up nearly 20 percent of 16-24-year-olds. Nationally, an estimated 3 million young people ages 16-24 are disconnected, or 7.6 percent of all young people, the report says.

Additionally, the study broke down data by race and level of education.

"Whites typically have the highest employment rates and lowest unemployment rates among all ages," the report reads. "However, among prime-age workers, Asians have the lowest unemployment rates."

The study also points out many of the best-performing areas are in the Midwest, West or regions with highly educated residents like state capitals and university towns.

The study goes on to explain ways of improving employment. It suggests a young person needs to graduate high school or earn an alternate credit, enroll in and complete post-secondary education or job training and enter the workforce with the skills employers are looking for. Click here to read the full article.