The clearest sign of a recession is a steady increase of job losses and high unemployment

One signal that a recession has become a depression? When GDP declines more than 10%

There’s no single definition for recessions or depressions, but both are marked by sustained periods of declining economic activity. Depressions are more severe than recessions.

The Sahm rule attempts to predict recessions based on unemployment trends

The US is in a recession when the average US unemployment rate over three months rises by half a percentage point from a 12-month low, according to the Sahm rule.

Recessions are often called retroactively, rather than while they’re occurring

Because recessions are recognized when a wide array of economic factors like falling GDP and high unemployment converge, they are often officially recognized after the fact.

Recessions are considered to be inevitable by modern economic standards

Recessions are caused by imbalances in the market and are guaranteed to happen in capitalist systems, but predicting them is a complex task.

Between 2007 and 2009, the housing market saw its most significant downturn since the Great Depression: the Great Recession

The early 2000s were a prosperous period for the housing market, until some lending practices eventually destabilized it, leading to banks collapsing and people losing their homes.

The lipstick index is just one niche so-called 'recession indicator'

When consumers think an economic downturn is looming, the "lipstick index" economic theory argues that sales of more affordable luxury items (such as lipstick) go up. Other weird alleged recession indicators include Former Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan's suggestion that men's underwear sales could help predict an economic downturn.

A V-shaped recovery from a recession is the most common kind

When charted, recession recoveries resemble letters including V, U, W, L, and K. For instance, an L-shaped recovery involves a steep decline that slowly reverses.

COVID-19's shock to employment rates sparked some economists to fear deflation

COVID-19 simultaneously disrupted the supply chain and the labor market. Since the unemployment rate had hit record highs, some economists were worried that the supply chain would recover before the labor market. If that had happened, businesses would have been producing goods, but no one would have been able to buy them because they wouldn't have the disposable income to do so.

An inverted yield curve has preceded every recession that’s occurred in the last 50 years

Prolonged yield curve inversions can predict recessions, but even brief inversions can cause investors to react with knee-jerk reactions.

Explore an interactive tool that reveals why Americans are unemployed

Among unemployed Americans ages 25 to 54, almost 30% cited being laid off as the reason for their unemployment.

Why the employment report matters to Wall Street

On the first Friday of every month, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the infamous "jobs report." The report essentially tracks how US employment is doing, from the unemployment rate to the number of people in the US currently on payroll. But most importantly, the jobs report has major implications for the economy at large. To find out how this monthly report impacts Wall Street, read this article.

Read about the evolution of the S&P 500 and its recession recovery

Since the S&P 500 is considered a bellwether index (meaning it represents the health of the US economy), its value is important for investors in both bull and bear markets. The S&P 500 has been impacted by recessions and downturns, from the 1970s oil crisis to the dot-com crash of the early 2000s.

Housing 'starts'— new constructions—signal the health and future of real estate

The Federal Reserve Economic Data, or FRED, tracks monthly “housing starts,” the number of new residential construction projects being built. Some argue this data can serve as an economic barometer.

Some economists argue the national debt is not a critical concern

The US has the largest national debt and one of the highest debt-to-GDP ratios. These vitals have long been considered a sign of poor fiscal health, but economists are beginning to shift their attention to interest rates to evaluate national debt.

Visual Capitalist projects the fastest-shrinking jobs in America by 2034

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will be fewer jobs for cashiers, bank tellers, data entry clerks, and more over the next decade.

Network effects are the economic term for a good or service's popularity

When goods or services become especially popular, firms that provide that good or service become dominant in the market—which can ultimately lead to a monopoly.

The US loses roughly $400B a year in productivity due to sleep deprivation

For an article about a woman who built a business empire telling bedtime stories, the Hustle created this graphic showing the estimated GDP loss associated with chronic insomnia. The United States had a much more significant loss than other countries.

A list of the world's top 25 economies by GDP

Gross domestic product estimates the value of goods and services produced in a country, typically through the expenditure method, which adds up spending by consumers, investors and governments with the value of exports. The top five economies are the US, China, Germany, Japan and India.

Government shutdowns halt nonessential services and furlough federal workers

When Congress fails to pass a budget or stopgap funding, the government shuts down. This video explains which services stop, who is furloughed, and how shutdowns ripple through the economy and daily life.

BNPL may be adding a layer of debt that doesn't show up in economic data

Given somewhat limited regulation in the BNPL space, data about its usage is limited—many BNPL firms have resisted sharing information about user purchases, finances, and more thus far. As more people begin using buy now, pay later services, experts are concerned about whether BNPL is adding a new layer of "hidden leverage" to the economy.

Beyond oil, the Iran war is pushing up costs on fertilizer, prescriptions, and mortgages, too

Gas is up 27% since fighting began, but the Strait of Hormuz also carries a third of the world's fertilizer, petrochemicals used in generic drugs, and helium for semiconductor manufacturing. Mortgage rates have climbed back above 6.4%, and economists warn $130 oil could tip the U.S. into recession.

The number of publicly traded companies has decreased in recent years

In 1996, more than 7,300 companies traded publicly on US stock markets, but that number has recently dropped to 4,300. Economists point to two reasons: First, going public requires full disclosure of operations, exposing it to scrutiny from investors, competitors, and analysts. Second, the IPO process is expensive and time-consuming.

NASA economic impact (and budget history)

It's estimated that for every dollar NASA spends on its programs, $8 is produced in US economic growth. With a 2023 budget of roughly $25 billion, that means NASA helped create $200 billion in economic value. The administration's investments pay off so massively due to the technologies it develops, many of which become commercially appealing. Dive into the economic impact of NASA's development here.

US honeybee colony loss remains a concern, despite rebounding from the mid-2000s CCD

In the winter of 2006-07, worker honeybees began mysteriously disappearing from hives—a phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder—triggering the loss of as many as 90% of hives. The lack of dead bees found near hives and the declining prevalence of CCD since then have made finding a single cause challenging.

Many shows close without earning a profit

Broadway is a tough market, and a show closing early is relatively common, especially in the winter: Between December 2024 and February 2025, 17 shows closed. It's more than just low ticket sales: Broadway shows face a number of hurdles to success, including stop clauses and bad reviews.

The 2026 Ebola outbreak is hampered by a lack of vaccine against the species of the virus, heightening the need for rapid tests to aid in disease control.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

Roughly 43 million US borrowers owe roughly $1.7T in student debt, the second-largest source of consumer debt behind mortgages.

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

While El Niño moves warm Pacific Ocean waters east along the equator, La Niña moves them west, shifting where rainfall will become more common for months.

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

Neutron stars, the remains of some massive stars after they explode in a supernova, are the densest directly observable objects in the universe.

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

The Nasdaq's 'Magnificent 7' companies are responsible for roughly 40% of the Nasdaq 100 index's gains, while the remaining 93 companies account for the other 60%.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

Fireworks-related ER visits are on the rise—in 2024, they increased by 52% as compared to the prior year.

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

The Beatles' US label rejected the band's first two singles, 'Please Please Me' and 'From Me to You,' with one executive calling the band 'dead in the water.'

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

Some researchers have labeled nomophobia, the fear of being without your phone, as 'the phobia of the 21st century.'

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

See 33 images that became central to huge scandals, including a young Charles and Camilla, Michael Jackson's baby on a hotel balcony, and Hugh Grant's mugshot.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight