A still lagging economy has meant dim job prospects for college graduates for a few years now. For this year’s college grads, that means that more of them will be moving back in with their parents – a trend that has led to the term “boomerang generation.”

A survey by the consulting firm Twentysomething, Inc., found that 85 percent of 2011 college grads moved back home at least for a while. In fact, the U.S. Census Bureau reports that between 2005 and 2011, the numbers of people between ages 18 and 34 who were living at home increased for all groups by between 2 and 6 percent. With a national jobless rate of 9 percent, the jobless rate for adults ages 20-24 is about 14.9 percent.

What does this mean for the parents of this year’s college grads? The resource and support organization College Parents of America (www.collegeparents.org) notes that while this offers a great opportunity to get to know your children as adults, it can also be hard to adjust to living under the same roof again. The financial impact alone can be significant for parents.

Collegeparents.org recommends careful planning and good communication with your student, including discussing goals for how long the living arrangement will last, what the “house rules” and expectations will be; and even ongoing discussions and “lessons” on budgeting, expenses, business expectations and life lessons. “Let your student take the lead,” the site recommends, while also cautioning, “Don’t allow yourself – or your student – to slip back into old adolescent routines.” College grads are adults; treat them as such.