Are honeybee populations declining or not?

Over the past, say, 5 years I’ve seen so many headlines about honeybee populations in decline around the world, along with gloomy forecasts of what that means for ecosystems etc. Then I read an article in the most recent Economist that mentions, in passing, that that’s a myth. Which of these is true? And maybe more importantly, if honeybee populations are not in decline, what accounts for the persistence of the myth?