When he says "we graduated during a recession" I think he means the early 80s recession (Gen X includes those born from around 61-81 so the first batch graduate

When he says "we graduated during a recession" I think he means the early 80s recession (Gen X includes those born from around 61-81 so the first batch graduated in the early 80s). That recession actually was comparable. In fact peak unemployment was worse (10.8% vs 10.1%). Many split the early 80s recession into 2 recessions(Early 80 and then mid 81 to late 82) but if you look at that period as a whole the GDP drop exceeds the 2008 recession as well. That being said we aren't done yet either. Just as there was a temporary recovery between mid-1980 and mid-1981 we've technically been out of recession for 16 months and things aren't look great for the future.