Local recession indicators

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Want to know how the recession is affecting your small part of the world, if at all? Check your workplace refrigerator. In boom times, folks tend to eat out more, especially for lunch. In leaner times, folks bring lunch, especially leftovers from the previous night’s dinner. This, plus a slew of other local economic indicators, tells you more about how the recession is impacting your world, your industry, your company, and your community than all the market metrics combined, because this is the sort of thing you see every day.

Some other indicators? If you work in an office, see how often the cleaning service does things like empty trash or clean the restrooms. Check the quality of consumables like toilet paper – changes, especially significant, fast jumps in quality – indicate that the first stages of cost cutting are occurring, possibly silently. In a tough economy, it’s the prudent thing to do for companies. If your company has a cafeteria, see if food selection and quality change significantly in a short time. Know your admin team really well? Ask them how frequently they’re reordering supplies (supplies tend to go missing at a faster rate in tougher times) and if they’ve been given additional, more stringent purchasing restrictions.

All of these little economic indicators, in and of themselves, mean little, but aggregated may give you a more complete picture of how things are going in your neck of the woods, and can help you plan accordingly. If you see a series of sudden, abrupt changes in your company, it might be time to start looking for another job before it’s too late.


Comments

11 responses to “Local recession indicators”

  1. Sometimes, the smugglers of supplies are in cahoots with employees, because the cleaning service is staffed by victims of your last round of layoffs.

  2. Sometimes, the smugglers of supplies are in cahoots with employees, because the cleaning service is staffed by victims of your last round of layoffs.

  3. Sometimes, the smugglers of supplies are in cahoots with employees, because the cleaning service is staffed by victims of your last round of layoffs.

  4. As an economist-turned-internet-marketer, I'd say you're dead-on, Chris. You basically just listed what economists refer to as “inferior goods.” That is, consumption goes up when incomes go down. PB & Js, Mac & Cheese, 1-ply toilet paper. All of these things are in high demand during times like these.

    Looking forward to seeing more of your lectures during my USF intermediate course that just started up.
    @jlbraaten

  5. As an economist-turned-internet-marketer, I'd say you're dead-on, Chris. You basically just listed what economists refer to as “inferior goods.” That is, consumption goes up when incomes go down. PB & Js, Mac & Cheese, 1-ply toilet paper. All of these things are in high demand during times like these.

    Looking forward to seeing more of your lectures during my USF intermediate course that just started up.
    @jlbraaten

  6. As an economist-turned-internet-marketer, I'd say you're dead-on, Chris. You basically just listed what economists refer to as “inferior goods.” That is, consumption goes up when incomes go down. PB & Js, Mac & Cheese, 1-ply toilet paper. All of these things are in high demand during times like these.

    Looking forward to seeing more of your lectures during my USF intermediate course that just started up.
    @jlbraaten

  7. i think evreyone should be looking for other job opportunities at this point in time, regardless of there current situation things can go from doing good to bust within a couple of months and your employer just givein you the letter sayin bye bye

    “allways be prepared”

  8. beckymccray Avatar
    beckymccray

    For the local business confidence, I count my local help wanted ads.

    For consumer confidence, I watch my store sales. I've seen people moving back up to slightly higher priced items. (I'm calling it the Crown Royal Reserve Index.)

    I heard about a construction contractor who would check the prices for used bulldozers to check the local economy. I think everyone can find some metric that is trackable, reasonably accurate, and hyperlocal.

  9. beckymccray Avatar
    beckymccray

    For the local business confidence, I count my local help wanted ads.

    For consumer confidence, I watch my store sales. I've seen people moving back up to slightly higher priced items. (I'm calling it the Crown Royal Reserve Index.)

    I heard about a construction contractor who would check the prices for used bulldozers to check the local economy. I think everyone can find some metric that is trackable, reasonably accurate, and hyperlocal.

  10. beckymccray Avatar
    beckymccray

    For the local business confidence, I count my local help wanted ads.

    For consumer confidence, I watch my store sales. I've seen people moving back up to slightly higher priced items. (I'm calling it the Crown Royal Reserve Index.)

    I heard about a construction contractor who would check the prices for used bulldozers to check the local economy. I think everyone can find some metric that is trackable, reasonably accurate, and hyperlocal.

  11. […] If you’ve been getting by, keep doing what you’ve been doing, only moreso. Thrift is the new black. Keep watching the fridge and the toilet paper. […]

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