I was reading this article, and I thought the most interesting information was in the last paragraph:
“Many students nonetheless express optimism, though perhaps that’s simply the Lake Wobegon effect: They might believe they’re all above-average after years of positive reinforcement from their parents. In the same vein, they may see themselves as exceptions to the rules of the job market.”
Wow, this explains so many things.
I see this happen all the time now
Young adults who graduated into the dire labor market of 2008 and 2009 and have been out of work or underemployed since are applying for the same jobs as new grads are. The same goes for earlier grads who were laid off during the recession. Those job candidates, who likely have more experience than new grads may have an edge
Naturally though, everyone on AF is, in fact, above average 
friend of mine was a TA for a course when he was in grad school, he got in trouble for giving C’s when he graded some papers, his logic was “you can’t all be above average”
I graduated 2 years ago from Sac State with a average gpa, got a full time job without an interview due to an internship. My G/F got hired gainfully, laid off, hired on but underemployed (making more $, receptionist dealio), quit to temp at DB, then quit to work with gainful employment. I think the approach makes all the difference, and statistics don’t tell you that.