How economists (and TikTok) know if a recession is coming
21 May - 23 mins
Podcast Series
Planet Money
Lately we've noticed that something we think about all the time here at Planet Money is having a viral moment: recession indicators!
From the more practical (like sales for lipstick going up and men's underwear going down) to the absurd and nonsensical (like babysitter buns coming back into style?) — people are posting to social media every little sign they see that a recession is coming. And we LOVE it. Because between the trade war and the tariffs and the stock market, there has been a lot of economic uncertainty over the last few months and we want to talk about it, too.
Today on the show — we dig into the slightly wonkier indicators that economists look at when they're trying to answer...
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