Andrew Sum, director of the Center for Labor Market Studies and a professor of economics at Northeastern University, said the report should have focused on an important trend among today’s new college graduates: mal-employment.

“A larger share of college grads are ending up in jobs that don’t require college degrees,” Mr. Sum said. Those who are mal-employed are overqualified for their positions. More than 36 percent of recent college graduates are mal-employed, according to Mr. Sum’s research.

In the supplemental report, the authors write that, for graduates who hold jobs that don’t require degrees, their situation is “almost always temporary.” The authors also cite the income gap between college graduates and holders of only high-school diplomas, and how it widens with age thanks to a steeper earnings path for those with college degrees.