(A version of this article appeared on the political science blog The Monkey Cage)

Last week, On the Media did a story about how the figure of 85% of recent college graduates living at home is based on a more or less made up number. But this is not the only statistic about college graduates routinely cited by the media as a sign of the economic apocalypse. In this article, I take on a number that has more foundation in reality, but, taken out of context, makes it sound like the job situation for recent college graduates is hopeless.