College graduation is supposed to be a giant step on the way to a prosperous future. But the weak labor market means that graduates lucky enough to find good jobs will face reduced starting salaries, while many others will struggle to find work or have to settle for lower-level and lower-paid positions that do not require college degrees.

Even after the economy strengthens, many recent college graduates may never catch up. Research shows that early bouts of joblessness and low pay can damage career prospects and earnings over a lifetime.

While recent college graduates are still doing far better than high school graduates, the numbers are grim. In the past year, unemployment among college graduates under age 25 has averaged 8.5 percent, an improvement from 9.5 percent a year earlier, but still much higher than 5.4 percent in the year before the Great Recession struck at the end of 2007. From 2007 to 2011, the wages of young college graduates, adjusted for inflation, have declined by 4.6 percent, about $2,000 each per year.

It would be bad enough if one or two classes had to make up lost ground. But five, and counting since the economic meltdown, present a more profound challenge to prevailing assumptions and policies.