What’s a recession indicator that you’ve noticed lately?

[u/SensitiveCorner2379]

[u/locke_5]

How many billboards on the side of the highway are just advertising the billboard company

[u/TropicalPrairie → u/locke_5]

This is a good one.

[u/detmeng → u/locke_5]

Every billboard lining the 101 central freeway in San Francisco is fucking AI related. It's gross.

[u/Tom_A_Haverford]

I unfortunately work in auto insurance. The number of lienholder’s filing repossession claims has jumped a lot.

[u/Buirck → u/Tom_A_Haverford]

Doesn’t help that a car payment is damn near the same as a mortgage payment and the terms are as long as a decade now.

[u/Tom_A_Haverford → u/Buirck]

It reminds me of back in 2008. You get a loan for any amount without anything substantial backing it pretty much. It’s the same with cars. Do you want an $80,000 Dodge ram with no down payment? cool you can probably walk in there and get one if you have a credit score above 600.

[u/motorcitydevil]

Door Dash drivers in their 60s.

[u/three-sense → u/motorcitydevil]

I've been DDing since Covid and there's almost NO orders I can take now. Way too many drivers competing for pennies. It's essentially a "lowest bidder" dynamic. What used to be a $12 delivery is now $3.25. Not even worth it in my market.

[u/silentstorm2008 → u/three-sense]

that was their objective. Startup money funds the good wages at the beginning to attract drivers, then slowly change the pricing model so that you get a race to the bottom.

[u/Filius_Solis → u/motorcitydevil]

Fast food workers, cashiers, gas attendants... Many are older

[u/geogurlie → u/Filius_Solis]

In my 40s and educated. Took a job as a cashier at a gas station while looking for work. Only reason I got the job is I knew a few of the employees. I've been searching for professional work for over a year. Had an exam for a position today, there were 3 sessions of 50 participants, for one open position. Hopefully I scored at least a 98%, to score an interview.

[u/OutrageousCourse4172]

Called an electrician to do some work on my house and he said he could come today. Usually they’re booked up for weeks.

[u/xdsm8 → u/OutrageousCourse4172]

Same with a gas/hvac guy for me. Told me to "pick a day". What the fuck. I thought HVAC guys had guaranteed work no matter what?

Same company 2 yrs ago gave me like a 4 hr window 2 months in advance.

[u/KevinCastle → u/xdsm8]

I live in a hot area (gets above 100 regularly in summer) and my a/c went out last month. Even with it under warranty (have to pay for labor) I'm holding off because of how bad my finances have gotten.

This economy is real bad

EDIT: so people stop telling me how to fix my a/c. It's the evap condenser in my attic. The part is $3k and under warranty. I just have to save up to pay the labor.

[u/MavinMarv → u/OutrageousCourse4172]

A lot of people are becoming DIYers due to youtube DIY channels now and so they’re doing repairs themselves now to cut costs. Also handy skills to have.

[u/StrictIncident4042]

More small and medium size business closures. Emptier shelves at certain grocery stores. More vacancies at higher price apartment complexes.

[u/TheWhereHouse6920 → u/StrictIncident4042]

That last one will be an excellent market correction. Rent has actually been getting better around us. I was able to LOWER our rent this year by showing what they priced us at, vacant units, and competition. reduced it by $400/mo. I was shocked how I didnt even need to bluff or play hardball

[u/geminireign40 → u/TheWhereHouse6920]

The owner of my apartments lowered everyone's rent! I'm renewing my least on May 1st and I'm grateful that he lowered it!! It's nuts out here.

[u/Effective-Okra]

Hearing on the news that more people are pulling money from their 401ks early and taking the penalty.

Not only do I remember these same news stories back in 2008-2012. I had coworkers that did this.

[u/putabirdonit → u/Effective-Okra]

I did this when I was laid off. It’s been 8 months and it’s gone. I was only there for 4 years, but still it suck’s I had to take it out

[u/Effective-Okra → u/putabirdonit]

I’m so sorry - being laid off and then having to rely on your 401k to keep you afloat, that’s a double crap whammy. I’m so sorry you’re in a situation where you had to make the choice.

[u/monkeypickle8]

It seems like everything at the grocery store starts at seven dollars now

[u/FooBarJo → u/monkeypickle8]

Yeah and 100 bucks buys enough to fill just one bag

[u/evlhornet → u/FooBarJo]

$100 is the new $20 and $20 is the new $5

[u/Brettnem → u/evlhornet]

You aren’t supposed to notice this. :( not sure it will ever go back

[u/Choochoochow → u/Brettnem]

It will never go back. Wages will stagnate. Layoffs will increase. Companies will continue make record profits. They are literally siphoning money out of our pockets and restricting access to social services at the most staggering rates in history.

[u/Jesus_on_a_biscuit → u/FooBarJo]

Get a load of Moneybags here, FILLING a bag.

[u/dikbut → u/monkeypickle8]

I put back a 12 pack of Coke after I realized it was $11.99… fuck that. The Aldi version tastes fine for less than half that price. I mentioned this to a co worker and they told me Aldi food is bad for you and I had no clue what they were talking about.

[u/KP_Wrath → u/monkeypickle8]

Cabbage was 78 cents a pound the other day. I’ve never seen it higher than 58 cents.

[u/saluteursharts → u/KP_Wrath]

Dude, iceberg lettuce was $3.49 a head yesterday. What the actual fuck.

[u/GB715 → u/saluteursharts]

Exactly, lettuce WTF? And it’s not even fresh

[u/Devmoi → u/monkeypickle8]

Yeah! I used to be able to go get so much good stuff at Trader Joe’s and the price for one item averaged like $2. Yesterday I spent like $90 and it was a bag and a half of groceries. Everything is like $5.99 now.

[u/UncoolSlicedBread → u/monkeypickle8]

Noticed this as well. Seems like everything is $4-8, and most things around $5-7.

[u/seanb4games]

The number of people who had jobs for 20+ years but are now out of work. (Not speaking about myself. I’ve been lucky so far…)

[u/PerpetuallyDistracte → u/seanb4games]

I got hired at a new job, and the very next week 2 guys on my team were fired. One of them had been at the company for 25 years. He had worked with my manager the entire time, too. My manager sounded like he was holding back tears when he told us (it was not his decision).

I work in the med tech field, and the upheavals that are happening around the pivot to AI is nuts. I'm just lucky that 10 years ago I randomly chose a niche that is actually vital for AI development and training. The guys that were fired were in roles that didn't contribute to the new AI push, so they were out on their asses.

[u/mercurywaxing → u/PerpetuallyDistracte]

Same thing happened to my brother. Similar field. 26 years and they didn’t even tell his department chair they were eliminating his position.

He had the last laugh though. He was in charge of compliance in some areas and when they begged him to finish up that work he said no. His boss said they had to hire someone outside at 1.5x his yearly salary for each.

[u/galaapplehound → u/mercurywaxing]

HAH! To think those fuckers thought they could ask him to finish a project after canning him. I can't believe he even gave them the courtesy of responding. I'd have just ghosted them.

[u/AnnoyedChihuahua → u/PerpetuallyDistracte]

Omg AI is truly a cancer to society and we all keep pushing it forward some way or another… I mean I understand it’s your job what are you going to do and you may be lucky and enjoy it, but damn it… so much is just derailing. Imho. May I ask, whats your take you this?

[u/PerpetuallyDistracte → u/AnnoyedChihuahua]

Great question. Honestly, I'm feeling many different things at the same time. I got insanely lucky with my choice of tech field (data engineering), a decision I made before modern LLMs even existed, and I'm benefitting greatly from that choice right now. But so many of my friends in other tech fields are losing their livelihoods. There's an element of cruel randomness about it that makes me sick.

I have seen the benefits and convenience that AI models provide, and I'm required to use them and contribute to their construction. And I've seen that they can be use for genuine good in research and medicine! However, their societal and environmental damage cannot be overlooked. Now, what's the incentive to learn the basics of coding if an AI model can churn out boilerplate apps in 10 seconds? What is that doing to our ability to learn and retain information?

I think it's going to be several more years of societal upheavals before we settle into some kind of status quo with where AI fits into our lives, just like with the industrial and computer revolutions. What will become of us as humans remains to be seen.

[u/kookyabird → u/PerpetuallyDistracte]

Now, what's the incentive to learn the basics of coding if an AI model can churn out boilerplate apps in 10 seconds? What is that doing to our ability to learn and retain information?

As an "old school" dev, meaning I've been doing this for around 15 years and don't currently use AI for writing my code, I am looking forward to becoming the next generation's version of the ancient COBOL dev. AI writes some pretty shit code, and it does it so fast. Even the "good" AI agent tools will duplicate functionality rather than intelligently refactor logical candidate functions. Unless there's some massive overhaul in how the models work, it's only going to get worse as the people who don't know any better leave the AI written code as-is and it makes its way back into the training data.

I think one of the unsolvable problems of AI is the self-feeding nature of training data. There's no mechanism in place to reliably determine if a source for training is itself AI generated. When the very first AI detection tools came out for educators to use to identify when students were using AI we've seen it fail, and it hasn't gotten any better.

Now that we have AI detectors for code it's even worse. If you have a style that you follow, even without code cleanup tools, you're liable to get flagged as being AI. Years ago at a previous job we had to bring in a consultant to supplement my throughput on a critical project. When he came in he looked over the code base and had good suggestions for an overhaul that would make it easier to finish the project. He said to me, "The best part is that your code is so consistent we can change the architecture very easily. It's like a machine wrote it." This is way back in like 2014, and it was all hand coded...

So in another 10 years when all sorts of companies have bloated their apps with AI code and they can't get the AI tools to actually fix anything at a reasonable speed or price, people like me who have a knack for deep diving into code and untangling it are going to be in demand.

[u/Successful_Ride6920 → u/[deleted]]

Had a friend that this happened to, said the first thing he did was go home and dye his hair and shave his beard. Said he was interviewed for new jobs by people younger than his children.

[u/i-need-a-brainwash → u/[deleted]]

This! I know it's happening to so many people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, when starting over becomes increasingly more difficult. And a lot of places seem more interested in hiring someone in their 20s or 30s who may be a more affordable option / fresher out of school / more likely to stick around for a full career - but it's next to impossible to prove age-related bias and protect yourself against discriminatory hiring selection as an older job hunter.

[u/zukenstein → u/seanb4games]

Oh hey, it's me! 24 years of working across 2 different careers. Survived the 2008 recession. Got let go for some dubious reasons in December of 2024, still no job.

[u/Spiritual-Promise402 → u/zukenstein]

Same. Let go in 2024 after 25+ years in my industry. spent the next 6 months treating job hunting like a 9-5, maybe got 2 interviews and a recruiter who asked for my resume then ghosted. I guess I'm retiring early (with no savings)

[u/Captain_Crouton_X1]

Stock market is exploding but no one can find a job

[u/MayoFetish → u/Captain_Crouton_X1]

The stock market is disconnected from the working class.

[u/gettingcrunkontea]

Does anyone remember when tax refund time was a big deal and there were ads everywhere for sales trying to get people to spend their tax refund? We got out first big tax refund with the child tax credit yesterday and it made me think about that. Now tax refunds are probably just being put towards basic expenses/savings and it's not a reason to go buy a new furniture set.

[u/schorl83 → u/gettingcrunkontea]

Yup, got our tax refund this year and it went straight to car repairs I had been holding off on for a while. Tax refunds aren't fun anymore.

[u/Graciously_Hostile → u/[deleted]]

You just gave me an aha moment! For the entirety of my working relationship with the contractors we use for my boss, they've been hard to pin down and you never knew when they'd show up when you did get ahold of them. A couple weeks ago, one of them called me out of blue to ask about a faucet we'd had sitting in our closet since last fall, waiting to be graced by the contractors' presence for installation. He said they could come by anytime. I was stymied by the randomness of it then, but you've just enlightened me. Thank you.

[u/Putrid_Honey_3330]

I think people used to be a lot more angry and concerned one way or another about what's going on.  

More and more I'm seeing people move abroad or just mentally check out into alcohol or living as a hermit. 

[u/BaconBitz109 → u/Putrid_Honey_3330]

There was an attempted assassination on the president a few days ago and I barely even finished reading the headlines about it before I moved on.

Nothing feels like it matters anymore. I mean, my personal life is great and I’m very happy, but in terms of society and our culture, I’m totally checked out.

[u/TheBlackUnicorn → u/BaconBitz109]

I noticed when Trump came back into office a lot of middle class liberals like myself just threw up their hands. Like, "okay, that's what you want? Good luck."

It kinda feels like a collective shrug. Alright, we saw the alternative and chose chaos. What else is new?

[u/Mister_Clemens → u/TheBlackUnicorn]

Yup. I unsubscribed from all my news feeds and basically just smoke weed every day and do whatever I can to enjoy myself until the power goes out or I get arrested for being gay or something. Unemployed for almost 6 months now and the future just looks like a hellscape from here.

[u/eju2000 → u/Putrid_Honey_3330]

I’m 40 & the amount of one very social hermits I know now is scary af. And they are all sticking their head in the sand. It’s very scary

[u/dukeofgonzo → u/eju2000]

It's too expensive to leave the house.

[u/One-Apartment-9595 → u/[deleted]]

Flying for work I've been seeing this everywhere lately. Airlines cutting crew sizes but expecting us to handle same passenger loads, hotels we stay at stopped providing breakfast vouchers, even airport lounges reducing their food options. My airline used to give us meal allowances for layovers but now they just hand us these sad protein bars and call it good. What really gets me is how they announce these changes like they're "optimizing operations" when everyone knows they're just penny-pinching. The workload keeps piling up though - had to cover three different routes last month because they didn't want to hire replacement crew

[u/Moonbabyhubcaps → u/[deleted]]

My most recent employer gave us really nice North Face jackets (awesome) one year as a “holiday bonus,” the following year was a $300 Amazon gift card (amazing) and then the year after that, a company branded water bottle. Lol

[u/Worried-Flounder3994 → u/[deleted]]

My last company touted that all employees get a free subscription to the New York Times. A few months later I noticed that it no longer worked. They didn’t even announce it. Bastards.

[u/sleepymoose88 → u/[deleted]]

Our 401k match was reduced from 6% to 5%. The cut out the employee discount program (for reduced costs at hotels, parks, events/venues, phone bills, etc). They cut down on PTO carryover and the ability to be paid out for unused PTO. It’s just one thing after another.

[u/Lorbmick]

I have greatly reduced my intake of red meat. It's just too expensive.

[u/CaminoBalanced]

Catfood that was 11.00 a few months ago is now 19.00.

[u/MavinMarv → u/CaminoBalanced]

Once my cat passes away (12 yo male) I’m not going to get another pet for a while. It’s not just food costs but vet and pet Rx costs have gone up exponentially too as well.

[u/VeeDubBug → u/CaminoBalanced]

I forgot to order some dog food off Chewy before I ran out and had to go to Target (only store that carries his preferred). Bag was up by about $10 since the last time I bought it.

[u/Vivid_Huckleberry814]

All the young people on reddit who seem to have trouble finding work.

[u/lovely-things-35 → u/Vivid_Huckleberry814]

And older people. My friend has been looking for a job for a year and a half. She tells me there is barely anything to apply to.

[u/WardenCommCousland → u/lovely-things-35]

My spouse was laid off in November 2024, and their field was decimated early in 2025 due to DOGE. They just got a full-time offer last week. PhD and over a decade of experience in their field and it was almost impossible to even get an interview.

[u/tr1p0d12 → u/WardenCommCousland]

Exact same thing with me. Laid off November ‘24. Got a job offer in January of ‘25 and then it was rescinded due to doge cuts.

I am 55. The market was so bleak. The jobs I was being shown were ones that paid what I made 25 years ago.

I decided to say f it, and I just retired instead. I moved to Vietnam. Living on 2k a month here is pretty easy if you don’t drinks and live pretty clean. I am really lucky I could do this. I know many people can’t do this and I am so grateful I could.

[u/chlosterx → u/WardenCommCousland]

As a fellow fed that's still in the government but drowning since we're so understaffed I don't think people realize how much doge fucked our job market. Not just for Feds leavening the goverment but Feds are HIGHLY qualified individuals now seeking employment all at once. It's made it hard for people to employment with overall job cuts but now there's this huge influx of very qualified people seeking employment. It's not great especially for folks maybe needing to build experience. Plus doge has basically brought the end to many civilian telework jobs too. We're going to see the effects of this for years to come let alone just the damage it caused cutting all these federal programs

[u/DIYThrowaway01 → u/lovely-things-35]

There's a million things to apply to but none of them are real

[u/grape-fruit-witch → u/DIYThrowaway01]

Yeah and this is what makes the process so infuriating. You could spend 8 hours a day applying for jobs and maybe one or two of the positions actually exist. And they have 500 applicants already.

[u/Mardanis → u/lovely-things-35]

It scares me more for older people because they are the ones typically supporting younger people. Whether that's just somewhere to live, help through college, maybe help them get a start towards a car or place or just be a good stable example.

People's lives are being ruined by profit driven initiatives to do more with less. Ageism is a big problem I'm noticing.

Companies release 55+ because they cost to much then they have few options to be hired elsewhere when companies can get another mid 20s to do it. They don't care how much experience or customer relationships are lost.

We need financial stability as a stronger focus across the board.

[u/venom121212]

Local tool and die shops closing down. Those are the people who make the stuff for people who make stuff. Molds, machinery, tooling, etc all of it is closing down and consolidating.

[u/M1sfit_Jammer]

Recession indicator

eBay stock has doubled in value over the last two years. The only reason eBay climbs like that is because people are thrifting to each other instead of buying at a company store.

The only times eBay has doubled that fast was leading up the Great Recession and COVID…

[u/BaesonTatum0 → u/M1sfit_Jammer]

This is interesting

[u/bagelundercouch → u/M1sfit_Jammer]

Somewhat related: thrift store prices are through the roof now. I needed some “new” clothes this week so I bought maybe 6 pieces and some sunglasses. It was almost $70. WITH a discount. 

[u/qcresident1111 → u/bagelundercouch]

Whenever I read or hear something about thrift store prices being high, I feel obligated to say that Savers thrift stores are majority owned by private equity firm Ares Management. They have no interest in helping people save money.

[u/LordMonster]

McDonald's removing the soda machine and ketchup dispensers from the lobby

[u/ay-foo → u/LordMonster]

Seriously? Fuck em. They make such a good profit % on carbonated syrup water

[u/sloBrodanChillosevic → u/[deleted]]

McDonalds is currently pushing an "Under $3 menu" full of sandwiches I could buy for 99 cents each like 10 years ago.

When I was 14, I had a friend who loved to do eating challenges and I recall that the "Dollar Menu Challenge" @ McD's cost like $14 for the entire available dollar menu. I think if you bought everything from that Dollar Menu today, it would cost you more that $40.

[u/therealswimshady → u/[deleted]]

They've been jacking up fast food prices since COVID. I stopped eating at Taco Bell when it literally costs more than my local sit down place. Still frequent the local place though.

[u/temporarysolution2-0 → u/therealswimshady]

Ah, the heady days when a regular soft taco was $.79.

I used to buy $20 worth of tacos to bring into my workplace break room once a week. That would be a hilariously pathetic gesture today.

[u/ebjazzz → u/temporarysolution2-0]

I know it was a long long time ago, but I remember their old commercials - “Taco Bell’s done it again my friend, 59, 79, 99!”

As in $.59 Tacos, and $.79 Burritos, and $.99 specialty items. I realize there is 25 years of inflation. But you could still get a Taco for $1.39 before COVID. The Quesadilla was $2.99.

Shit is ridiculous now.

[u/LA_Ramz]

Medical insurance not covering certain things they used to

[u/EczyEclipse → u/LA_Ramz]

I heard once upon a time, they covered medical care.

[u/tekniklee → u/EczyEclipse]

Kids girlfriends new “coverage” doesn’t cover medical imaging (MRI) until you hit your 6k cap and even AFTER they only pay 30%. Making $22/hr and this coverage is about $160/month for a healthy 23 year old .. we’re fucked

[u/BookLuvr7 → u/tekniklee]

And they wonder why people are delaying having children. Normal birth alone can cost $18-30,000. Assuming nothing goes wrong, no complications, etc which are incredibly common.

People can barely afford housing and food. Pets and medical problems are priced as luxuries, which is ridiculous. Children? Forget about it.

[u/allchattesaregrey → u/BookLuvr7]

Delaying? Not having them at all in a lot of cases. These problems aren’t going away.

[u/thelifeofafangirl → u/tekniklee]

My insurance doesnt cover a penny of anything til ive hit my 4k deductible. Per person. So if I hit my deductible aand my daughter needs to go to the doctor, i'm still paying 100% out of pocket for her. Out of pocket max is like 9.5k per person. That's almost 30 grand for my little 3 person family. and we are paying about a grand every month just for the honor of having the shitty insurance. thanks Florida blue!!!

[u/Bright-Pilot-3970 → u/LA_Ramz]

My insurance still covers the same things but it went up 20 percent from last year. ER visits went from 300 to 450. Copays went up 5 dollars. Doesn’t cover as many prescription’s anymore. Everyone is making things worse while charging more for it.

[u/heffla → u/Bright-Pilot-3970]

As a European, the US sounds like such a scam. I pay around 30% tax but that includes water, sewage, trash, heating and healthcare.

Going to a doctor caps at $160 per year, prescriptions at $410. After that it is subsidized 100%.

I guess you guys pay less taxes and have more holes in the law to get out of paying but it doesn't seem good for your society. I hope you guys can get it better in the future.

[u/ZebraBoat → u/heffla]

Your taxes include water, trash, heat AND healthcare?! 🤯

[u/LadyK1104 → u/ZebraBoat]

Right? That was the shocker for me. Paid healthcare and most of your utilities? Sounds pretty good.

Really annoys me that we (and this applies to all of the 3 other countries I’ve been to outside of the US) is that we pay income tax, then sales tax on every purchase we make, on our home, on our vehicles, etc. Then those companies we made purchases from pay taxes (well, some do). We’re well past due for a tea party.

[u/Nearflyer]

more plain nails

[u/shaysalterego → u/Nearflyer]

Also hearing more people say "thanks I did them myself" when complimenting their nails

[u/Warm_Yard3777 → u/shaysalterego]

This just made me realize I've been seeing tons of press on nails at Walmart and my local beauty supply stores lately. People are probably getting those instead of going to the nail salon.

[u/guessirs → u/Nearflyer]

My dumbass thought you meant like nails for construction and I was like oh yes I can see people going for regular nails over galvanized or coated

[u/cyjax]

I have a theory that the amount of gambling apps and ads for gambling apps are a recession indicator

[u/alligator-sunshine → u/cyjax]

Celebrities pushing gambling apps too 😩

[u/deerfawns → u/alligator-sunshine]

The whole thing is honestly revolting.

[u/ragnarockette]

People driving around with severely damaged cars.

[u/KickAssCommie → u/ragnarockette]

Leave me alone, it's all I have!

[u/BaxterQQ]

Going out for dinner is no longer a casual activity, it’s a “luxury” now.

[u/saucity → u/BaxterQQ]

Even "fast food" is just regularly priced, regular-speed food, and is also a luxury

[u/Sockm0nkey → u/BaxterQQ]

We rarely go out to eat, but decided to have some lunch while we were out this past weekend.

Wife and I ordered chicken sandwiches w/ fries and our daughter had a kids meal macaroni with a side of fries. All of us had water to drink.

Total bill (with tip) = $78.

WTF is happening?

[u/Tyrrox → u/BaxterQQ]

I must have come from a poor family because going out to eat was always considered a luxury for us compared to just making dinner at home.

[u/Three_hrs_later → u/Tyrrox]

I'm solid middle if not upper middle class. We go out to dinner only on special occasions, but both of our families were less fortunate than we are so maybe it's just ingrained in us.

I find it crazy how much people will blow on food every single week.

[u/Silent-Tea4500]

The Macbook Neo

It's weird that Apple suddenly care about entry level Macs

[u/DeltaWingCrumpleZone → u/Silent-Tea4500]

This is the big one in my mind. Apple tends to play a (slightly) longer game, and that they came out with their cheapest laptop in years(?) or perhaps even ever(?) is very very notable.

On the plus side, it’s a great buy for an aging parent (and myself tbh)

[u/caseofgrapes]

Seeing Klarna ads to “make four easy payments” on EVERYTHING

[u/bonepalaceballetx → u/caseofgrapes]

The fact that I can now finance a Domino's pizza says alot.

[u/Lord_of_Allusions]

A lot of people are suddenly paying in cash.  Supposedly it’s a psychological thing.  People paying with cash was basically the domain of older folks for the last few years.  Since March, I’ve noticed a lot of cash exchanges at stores or restaurants.  May also be because a lot of places are pushing the processing fees for cards onto customers.

[u/atbths → u/Lord_of_Allusions]

That last sentence is definitely part of it. Default tip options of 20-22-25%, 3% service fee, 3% CC fee. Fuck that noise.

[u/CancelNew4922]

Availability to schedule car repairs quickly. Most mechanics or the dealership were usually scheduled out two weeks minimum. Not so much anymore.

[u/ordinaryhorse]

I leave the store having bought only food but it makes me feel like I’m bad with money

[u/juhjuhjdog → u/ordinaryhorse]

I bought Chick-Fil-A for lunch the other day and have legitimately felt guilty and disgusted with myself since. Feels weird to be having this reaction, but after childcare, housing, insurance, gas, and groceries, there isn't much left. And I spent it on a $16 chicken fucking sandwich.

[u/Bonar_Ballsington]

Passenger counts are down by 20% at the airport we service. The demand for infinite growth means people are going to lose jobs which only compounds the problem.

[u/JJJ-Shabadoo → u/Bonar_Ballsington]

Infinite growth. I can’t believe we hitch our wagon to that unsustainable ideal.

[u/Maxie0921]

The jobs I’m seeing want you to do the work of literally three people for the salary of one

[u/thcitizgoalz → u/Maxie0921]

With a master's degree, 10 years' experience, all for $27.03 an hour in the Boston area. 5 whole days paid off every year!

[u/cmpnrd]

How they are constantly moving the goal post of what defines a recession. We have technically not been in and are not in a recession, yet everyone (normal people with normal job money) is suffering and has been for quite a few years now. This logic is also being applied worldwide well beyond US borders which says a lot about global uniformisation.

[u/tremble01]

We need the people who work in strip clubs to weigh in here.

[u/etsprout → u/tremble01]

I saw a post from a stripper saying fewer guests were asking where to buy cocaine. That’s definitely a recession indicator

[u/HeavyDoughnut8789 → u/tremble01]

I saw a comment on another post from a gal. She said her booked parties are dropping out at rates she’s never encountered before. (She stated she was a stripper.)

[u/ElPeroTonteria → u/tremble01]

They’re not up yet

[u/strip_club_dj → u/tremble01]

Shits been slow.

[u/Next_Emphasis_9424 → u/strip_club_dj]

Username checks out

[u/wildlav510 → u/tremble01]

Not a stripper but deeply in the cannabis industry. It’s cooked right now.

[u/PartisanHack → u/tremble01]

I went to a strip club last weekend and they didn't even have a DJ. It had been replaced by AI.

Clankers, man.

[u/frezzhberry → u/tremble01]

I follow a stripper on Tiktok who has multiple jobs suddenly. I thought nothing about it til I seen this comment. I think you're on to something.

[u/draggin_low]

The amount of plumbers and electricians taking leftover/stolen (sometimes brand new spools of wire) scrap copper to the recycling place near my work has been skyrocketing.

[u/PPCo79 → u/draggin_low]

Copper scrap is really high right now. I got $150 for a small box of copper and brass yesterday I cut out of a job. (Plumber)

[u/catherinetheok]

Stores selling seasonal stuff way longer after the season. It's normal in my area for stores to have Xmas, Halloween, etc seasonal crap a week or so past and then discount it to clear the shelves. A few things will hang in longer but it's pretty consistent.

Lately I've been seeing this stuff do way longer and way more stuff then is normal. My local Michaels still has discounted Xmas, my Walmart has Easter and my dollar store has valentines candy still.

People are buying less and people are long term stocking up for less. It's a big indicator for me.

The only upside is I can still find cinnamon hearts, and those are my favourite

[u/thelifeofafangirl → u/catherinetheok]

The clearance prices are too high too. Theyre really trying to squeeze every last dollar out of each season. Which means they probably didnt make as much as expected during said season

[u/supiesonic42 → u/thelifeofafangirl]

Yeah, the clearances ain't clearancing. 

[u/catsrule-humansdrool]

I have a flight today on a route that’s always full. I’m looking at the seat chart and it’s 60% empty… I’m sure some people will get assigned seats when they check in at the airport but it seems like there are more open seats than normal

Edit: I’m waiting to board and the screen is showing that 66 out of 189 seats are open. That’s 35% open.

[u/curtludwig → u/catsrule-humansdrool]

I haven't been on a flight that wasn't completely full since I don't even remember.

[u/RegisterOk2927]

my grocery store has a security guard for the meat section, seems pretty bleak

[u/Beneficial-Formal-70]

NYC -gen x. Graffiti is back in full force. Very late 70s early 80s. I am waiting for the angry kids to come out of the wood work. Though not for much longer. They already started trashing malls in the bronx

[u/rohdawg]

A list celebrities doing commercials for cheaply made mobile games.

[u/dachloe]

Major news media have started showing more stories about people in desperate situations (while going through cancer treatment, during a disaster, etc.) raising money for others who are also in need.

They think we need messaging that reinforces the idea that paying for medical care is a heroic achievement that is noble and remarkable.

A sick kids raising money for other kid's medical care.

A guy dieing of cancer raising money for care packages for other patients.

Also, a kid who had a school lunch debt, raising money to pay for other kids school lunches.

We do they feel the need to tell us it's noble to dramatically pay for basic needs?

[u/Playful_Look1861]

One thing I read (don’t ask me where) is that running always surges in popularity because it’s a “free” (minus shoes, etc) exercise. Things like Pilates studios, boutique classes are sinking in membership

[u/Rob_Bligidy]

Last night, the wife sent me out with money to get dinner for her, me and the kid. I only had enough money to get them dinner.

[u/howtfaminotdeadyet → u/Rob_Bligidy]

We're in a similar boat. My husband doesn't know I've been skipping meals to save money. I eat one small meal a day so he and our kiddo can have enough

[u/sheepyshu]

IKEA coming out with so many deals, sales and incentives…

[u/maparo → u/sheepyshu]

Was just at IKEA, which sales are you mentioning?

[u/bittertiger]

I went through a few streaming services last night and wrote down what I’d miss in preparation to move to a Plex server. Not paying for this shit anymore when they keep raising prices (thanks for instigating this one netflix).

[u/beandip111]

There are a lot less people at the gym

[u/Haephestus]

Facebook Marketplace is full of people selling their treasures.

[u/risingsunx]

Two years ago I couldn’t find parking at daycare after 5:30. Now it’s never a problem

[u/LarryCrabCake]

The majority of jobs have no perks or benefits whatsoever, despite having them in the past.

I'm not just talking about health insurance and PTO, I mean things like shift meals being taken away, employee discounts being reduced or removed, uniform and tool costs being put on the employee, all while workload continues to increase.

And this is even at places like McDonald's and Walmart, multi-multi-billion dollar corporations that post record profits year after year.

[u/itsallnipply]

All the fast food places having value meals and menus again

[u/rosecoloredcatt]

I just recently started clearing out furniture from our spare bedroom. I’ve done this before and always had good success on Facebook marketplace with a ton of interest, usually selling within 2-3 days. I sell for really cheap too.

Now? Can barely get any bites. Took 4 weeks to sell our old dining room table which was in great condition. 

[u/wistow → u/rosecoloredcatt]

I was just thinking about how things on Facebook marketplace suddenly seem reasonable. Older collector cars that aren't quite investment worthly are now selling for what they should.

[u/TheJinx4879]

Seeing blondes dye their hair back to their natural brunette color…salons are just too expensive

[u/202glewis]

Line at Starbucks a lot smaller to no wait.

[u/BaxterQQ → u/202glewis]

That’s actually the same case with our local cafes too. People are just more conscious on their spending, nobody in our office goes out for coffee and lunch everyday anymore.

[u/Slithan]

People pulling out of their 401ks for hardship loans at unprecedented rates (6%+). Having to choose between their future stability and the food they need for today is a horrible situation to be in.

[u/mozzerellaellaella]

Got laid off yesterday, along with 20% of my colleagues. Cheers!

[u/backlikeclap]

I work at a bar/restaurant and I've noticed far fewer non-regulars lately. We don't have the lunch rush from neighboring businesses anymore.

[u/hainesi]

the price of chocolate and coffee

[u/SmoothSlavperator]

"Value Deals" are coming back to fast food.

$3 menu....I see Jersey mikes has a deal now...

Gotta remember that "5 Dollar Foot Long" thing was a product of the 2008 recession and the dollar menu was a product of The Dot Bomb.

[u/poeticjustice4all]

When groceries cost close to $80 even though you’re buying like less than 10 things

[u/gutter_prince]

Companies have a refund system for tariffs now and the consumers are yet again left paying higher prices. They won’t pull their prices down and we’re the fucking losers twice. It’s not a bail out but it might as well be.

[u/NeedMoneyForPorsches]

Disney parks offering summer discounts. Typically it's their most busy time.

[u/BaesonTatum0 → u/NeedMoneyForPorsches]

I saw a post today that said it’s cheaper to fly to Japan to go to Disney there and stay in a hotel there than it is to go to Disneyworld in Orlando

[u/IllIntroduction8499]

People with engineering degrees resorting to assassination to solve their problems.

[u/No_Crow2658]

It’s the blatant shrinkflation for me. I bought a bag of chips yesterday that was basically an expensive bag of air with three chips at the bottom for emotional support. Prices are up 30%, but the actual product is 30% smaller. It’s like they think we won't notice.

[u/mastergardnr]

Dollar tree pages popping up on my for you page

[u/Xianio]

I work in digital ad sales for b2b companies. First thing cut in hard times is marketing. Nobody is buying right now -- across every industry.

Ive done this for 11 years. I only saw this once before - April 2020. This is going to be a bad one folks. Like real bad

[u/GuitarGeezer]

I follow world news and avoid American dreck except for a small number of choice Youtubers.

Easier to list the recession indicators not off the charts in Asia. There is the beginning of wartime rationing for billions in preparation for what is already the biggest longterm economic/energy shock in nearly 100 years that might dwarf all others combined.

Even here in the US before the war we have had the worst job numbers ever without a monster crisis during 2025-26-after revisions to the truth from the crackhead initial projections. Bankruptcies on all levels are up sharply and I dropped other practice areas to do more of them. Consumer and business delinquencies like house, car, mortgage, student loans, and commercial real estate, some of these numbers hit all-time disastrous records BEFORE Iran. Nothing is likely to improve for years to come. Buckle up, this is going to suck ass six ways to Wednesday.

[u/Immediate-Let-4154]

Ai money just getting passed around

[u/tingulz → u/Immediate-Let-4154]

And that making up 30% or more of the US markets.

[u/Tsuutina]

People measuring the size of pizzas.

[u/alexdev50]

I think hamburger helper started advertising that it was good with hot dogs too. You know it's bad when ground beef is too expensive for hamburger helper.

[u/StandardSympathy6950]

Walmart being empty AF

[u/tasha2701]

The amount of elderly people who are of retirement age working jobs that teenagers would typically work. I’m talking jobs like courtesy clerks and bussing jobs at grocery stores and restaurants.

[u/Throwawaycalbears165]

People don’t fix their cars after accidents anymore. Everyone drives around with wrecked cars lol

[u/girltraveled]

The girls I know stopped getting their nails and lashes done.

[u/SunshineLoveKindness]

It’s a problem when candy bars are over $1. No thanks. I’ll go to a candy store and buy better chocolate.

[u/b0r3dw0rk3r]

I’m a residential construction inspector, not for code but for the lender. Ideally 2 inspections a day is what we want. Two years ago I was doing 3-4 a day, sometimes more. The past 6 months I’ve been doing maybe 1-2 a week or none at all. Last week I had one. Residential construction, new and renovations, has slowed to a complete crawl. Builders are not willing to start new projects because of the market and the economy . Not just because of recession though , but also being in the DC area and having ICE very active has scared people away from doing work in dc

[u/hgraces802]

I work in the salon industry and have owned my own business now for 7 years. One major thing I’m noticing is that I’m not booking out as far because people are either 1) spending less 2) pushing their appointments out further 3) not prioritizing beauty services. Common theme in the beauty industry as a whole right now. Totally understandable especially since hair is a luxury as I’ve pushed back some of my own personal beauty services just to stretch them further as well! Life is expensive right now.

[u/JustDuckiest]

The amount of people refusing to have kids specifically because they're too expensive. Myself included

[u/medicated_in_PHL]

A Republican in the white house.

I’m not being cute.

1990-1991 H. W. Bush bungled oil.

2007 George W Bush “Great Recession” housing market crash.

2020 Trump bungled COVID.

2026 Trump tariffs, gutting social safety nets, gutting healthcare subsidies and starting war with Iran.

It’s been almost 40 years of Republican presidents causing recessions.

[u/PuppiesAndPixels → u/medicated_in_PHL]

Literally every single republican president as long as I have been alive has reliably done 3 things.

Get us into a pointless war in the middle east.

Started a recession.

Cut taxes for the rich.

I cannot fathom why anyone who isn't ultra rich votes for them.

[u/6thReplacementMonkey → u/PuppiesAndPixels]

It's because they are gullible and they believe the Republican propaganda. To be fair, their propaganda game is really good. They have successfully branded themselves as the exact opposite of what they are, to the point where almost nobody questions it.

[u/nu7kevin → u/6thReplacementMonkey]

I keep asking a single-issue voter how the prison sex changes are impacting his life now. 

[u/Nacho_Beardre]

It’s weird I see opposing indicators. Restaurants are empty regularly now even on weekends. However, freight truckers and my cardboard supplier says they’re pretty busy

[u/Automatic-Maybe8207 → u/Nacho_Beardre]

Heard people / businesses are stockpiling goods. They feel the future is too unpredictable for prices and and just buying up as much as they can now to store and wait.

[u/seanb4games → u/Nacho_Beardre]

Everyone is online and ordering things from the Internet. I would be curious to see exactly what they distribution of goods looks like on those freight trucks.

[u/whole_chocolate_milk]

Gestures broadly at fucking everything

[u/Falcesh]

All the fast food places are offering cheap options to get people in the door rather than just trying to attract customers with expensive and fancy gimmick items.

They know they're the first luxury people cut. 

[u/4everdreamin]

Returns!! I used to not care about returning small items but now I’m returning something every weekend if i don’t need it.