While no job is guaranteed to be recession-proof, there are some occupations that appear to be safer than others. Actuaries, debt collectors, auditors, and repossession agents are a few more professions that may be less affected by a recession, or even “recession-resistant,” and there are also some recession-proof enterprises to consider.
The truth is that there is no easy way to protect your work during a recession; but, being prepared and vigilant is one of the best things you can do. If you are concerned about losing your job, be proactive and take the required steps now to transition into one of these recession-proof jobs.
What industries are the most recession-proof?
Healthcare, food, consumer staples, and basic transportation are examples of generally inelastic industries that can thrive during economic downturns. During a public health emergency, they may also benefit from being classified as critical industries.
Medical professional
Within the medical field, there are numerous vocations and specialties. This group includes Registered Nurses (RNs), pharmacists, physicians, surgeons, paramedics, dentists, dental assistants, and even veterinarians. People and animals become ill regardless of the economy, thus they will always require the assistance of trained professionals.
Specialized care, therapy, and counseling
Consider elder care, physical therapists, occupational therapy, substance-abuse counseling, chiropractic treatment, home health aides, mental health specialists, social workers, and other professionals who operate in this field. People place a high importance on their health. They will spend money on services that will help them to be productive while also being pain-free. Some of these services are covered by insurance, encouraging consumers to use them even when they are short on cash.
Law enforcement officers
The specific link between crime and economic cycles is difficult to pin down. Some crimes predict a downturn, while others coincide with it, and still others show no link at all. Communities prefer to invest in physical safety for local companies and citizens in any economic scenario, which means that police officers and the professionals who support them are in high demand even during a downturn.
Public utility services
During economic downturns, electric, water, sewage, waste, trash, and recycling services all continue to operate. Utility personnel, after all, are essential to ensuring public order and health. Surprisingly, consultants that serve those utilities appear to get the same benefit. Many cities, for example, are obligated to undertake annual audits of their trash-collection companies. Even in a down economy, consulting businesses that undertake such audits will have work to do.
Financial services
The importance of money mobility explains why financial specialists are always in demand. Accountants, auditors, actuaries, claims adjusters, tax preparers, and insurance underwriters are just a few of the employment available in the financial services industry. Many jobs necessitate professional certificates such as Enrolled Agent (EA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), or Certified Financial Analyst (CFA) (Chartered Financial Analyst).
Education services
Economic booms come and go, but putting money for the future is always a good idea. Regardless of the economy, jobs in primary education, secondary school, higher education, special education, and adult education are in high demand. Those interested in following this path should be aware that the method education is given is changing. New types of distant and on-demand education are becoming more relevant in addition to traditional classroom educators. As a result, a teaching career might be flexible in terms of both location and delivery manner.
Looking for a job that is recession-proof? A skilled resume writer can reframe your experience in order to help you advance in your job.
Are teachers immune to the economic downturn?
Teaching is a recession-proof profession that offers job security. It’s also a fantastic job opportunity for anyone who enjoys interacting with others. Yup! Teachers have not stopped working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the fact that other industries have been severely impacted.
Is luxury merchandise recession-proof?
Regardless of the state of their underlying economies, all corporations seek for growth and excellent earnings. Some, however, fail owing to a lack of understanding of actual customer loyalty, product/service positioning, and/or the contagion that can spread from elsewhere. During a recession, three-quarters of businesses see a drop in sales, but just 14% see an increase in revenue and profitability.
Stocks that are recession-proof are classified as such by institutional investors “Defensive”: enterprises that have been shown to be impervious to economic shocks, with the proviso that their performance during good times is not as stellar as others. In the year leading up to September 2019, Goldman Sachs’ defensive stock index returned 11 percent, while the S&P 500 returned only 1.9 percent.
To be recession-proof, however, a firm must either provide something that is a high enough priority that even the most frugal consumer will buy, or conversely, see demand surge owing to the difficult economic conditions.
The graph below shows the growth of a number of industries throughout the 2008/09 crisis, and it’s evident that a number of them performed well due to their recession-proof properties.
Here are some instances of industries that have shown to be recession-proof. Pay special attention to the behavior that surrounds the product/service, rather than the product/service itself “protection.”
Household Staples: Sustenance
The term “staples” is important since it refers to the basic, everyday products that we require for nourishment and personal hygiene. So, instead of caviar, choose bread and soap over false tan.
To maintain their weight, an adult man and woman need 2,500 and 2,000 calories per day, respectively. This does not change during a recession, and businesses that offer the basic necessities of life will remain unaffected. To overcome a TAM ceiling of population * calories, food firms have decreased the nutritional content of their products over time in order to induce more snacking.
When you look at a consumer goods company like Proctor & Gamble or Unilever, you’ll see that their portfolio is full of household staples and brands that cater to a variety of budgets. Such a strategy assures that they are malleable enough to deal with demand spikes, and that their performance during a recession can fluctuate between consumer preferences while still maintaining overall sales levels.
The same approach applies to businesses that provide personal or household hygiene goods, as well as pet supply stores.
Heritage Luxury Brands: Respected Quality
Despite their high cost, luxury items are remarkably resistant to recessions. A recession can actually lead to more consumers choosing to heritage companies with generations of expertise and brand cache, as their tastes become more sophisticated. The intangible promise of quality, distinction, and long-term worth accounts for a significant portion of the price of a luxury item. For example, luxury timepieces are marketed as heirlooms to be passed down down the generations.
Inflation does not always coincide with recessions, but when it does, demand for luxury items soars since the item retains its worth and does not devalue. Inflation is a problem in Argentina, and businesses are spending every dollar on high-quality inventory to build up large runways as an inflation hedge. This is because they are purchasing products that will not depreciate in value.
Vices: Addictive Pleasures
The easiest approach to define what binds this section together in terms of an economic concept is to put addictive activities together. Because addiction is inelastic, alcohol, nicotine, and gambling are pleasures that can withstand economic hardships. Sugar and caffeine could potentially be included in this category. There’s also the more abstract notion that these hobbies might serve as “escapes,” which can provide much-needed relief to stressed customers during difficult times. Alcohol sales increased by 9% during the US recession of 2008.
Addiction is a difficult topic, but many corporations try to instill euphoria in their customers about their products in the hopes of inducing inflexibility. Consumer intelligence and behavior monitoring have been pushed up to highly complex levels by Internet enterprises. As a way to create addictive loyalty, consider items like social media, the infinite scroll, and in-app purchases in games.
Healthcare: Necessity
Businesses that focus on providing healthcare are generally stable enterprises that are unaffected by economic downturns. This is owing to the fact that health is a mortal problem that must be taken care of and will take precedence over all other expenditures.
This industry has numerous sub-sections, one of which is resident care. The aging demographics of the wealthy baby-boomer group approaching retirement suggest that healthcare spending will remain stable in the future.
Budget Travel: Value
For the past 45 years, Southwest Airlines has been profitable. Low-cost airlines had the effect of fundamentally disrupting the notion of air travel, extending its market reach to previously unreachable lower-income groups; the cost of a trip has decreased by 50% in real terms in the 50 years leading up to 2013.
Budget travel, which includes long-distance bus travel, staycations, and public transportation, is a dependable industry. During upturns, it performs well because to its necessity (those relatives can’t come to see you) and value, which breeds loyalty and greater frequency from frugal flyers. Its popularity grows during downturns as a result of its cost advantages.
Budget airlines’ operational management is critical to their success since they operate on razor-thin profit margins and hence need to have effective and streamlined business procedures. Ryanair, for example, has a fleet of 419 planes, all but one of which are Boeing 737-800s. By using only one plane model, it is possible to keep parts, repairs, maintenance personnel, and all other necessary operations as simple as possible.
Utilities: Protection
Infrastructure that transports goods into our lives is not the most glamorous of industries, but it is one that can withstand any storm due to its necessity. During a recession, the needs for gas, water, electricity, and telephone service do not vary. These industries also benefit from their ties to government regulation, which can either give subsidies or hinder outside competition, providing a cloak of recession-proof protection.
Which businesses prospered during the Great Depression?
Chrysler responded to the financial crisis by slashing costs, increasing economy, and improving passenger comfort in its vehicles. While sales of higher-priced vehicles fell, those of Chrysler’s lower-cost Plymouth brand soared. According to Automotive News, Chrysler’s market share increased from 9% in 1929 to 24% in 1933, surpassing Ford as America’s second largest automobile manufacturer.
During the Great Depression, the following Americans benefited from clever investments, lucky timing, and entrepreneurial vision.
What industries are recession-resistant?
The only industries that remain unaffected by a recession are those that are recession-proof. They are perfect industries for meeting people’s basic needs, whether in the form of a service or a product. Despite being financially strained, consumers’ needs are continually oriented to their trade, so they will most likely thrive and withstand the effects of the crisis.
The economic destruction has been mostly caused by the coronavirus for more than a yeara health disaster that continues to bring deaths and recession around the world. Even in the face of adversity, it is never a bad idea to create chances and lean into the challenges.
Take, for example, Disney. The company was created as the Great Depression was sweeping the country. The Disney brothers realized that America needed to be cheered up again in a moment of terrible despair. They were able to expand their firm as a result of this chance, and they were able to overcome the recession’s problems.
As a result, in current downturn, every individual, business, and investment should rethink their options and seek refuge in the so-called recession-proof industry.
The 9 best recession-proof enterprises that can survive this critical era are listed below, in no particular order.
Grocery and Food Stores
In an economic downturn, the food business and grocery stores, unsurprisingly, thrive. During the recession, profits in grocery stores, fast food restaurants, and retail businesses were relatively stable. A good example is the frozen meal and coffee industry. Frozen food manufacturers should anticipate a 4.8 percent increase in total sales. The retail coffee market, on the other hand, increased by 6%, a significant increase over the initial prediction of only 2%. No crisis, not even the apocalypse, is likely to stop people from eating and drinking.
However, this industry may still be vulnerable to the recession’s consequences. During the past recession, each household’s food consumption fell by 7%, possibly because customers were more likely to buy on sale and discounted items or hunt for cheaper alternatives to minimize costs. However, the reality is that consumers can only cut their food spending so much.
Consumers’ eating habits are stimulated and increased in times of crisis, which is interesting. When people are worried, they crave and eat more, especially sweets and alcohol. During the Great Depression, popular chocolate bars such as Snickers and Mars were created. Cadbury chocolate sales have reportedly increased by 30% in tandem with McDonalds’ amazing business development during the 2008 recession. As a result, the food industry is one of the most recession-resistant industries.
Accounting and Tax Services
It must be so tempting to avoid paying those taxes! Regardless of whether there is a recession or not, taxes must be paid on time or face the repercussions.
What’s even worse is when an individual or a corporation tries to do their own bookkeeping in the hopes of saving money. While it appears to be a quick gain, there is a great deal of danger involved, and incorrect calculations could backfire and cause more problems down the road.
Resources should have been safeguarded by this stage, rather than causing potential harm. Entrusting a trained accountant to deliver the work while you focus on and target revenues is a prudent decision to make, especially during difficult circumstances.
Accounting firms are another business area that thrives during economic downturns. It is extremely important for firms to have a robust accounting and bookkeeping system in place during recessions.
In times of slowing economic development, a company’s initial instinct will be to decrease costs and keep its finances under control. When cash flow is limited, many businesses will want accounting assistance. When a business is in trouble, an accountant’s skills are needed to review spending, manage remaining resources, and offer sensible advise on how to resolve financial issues.
Unfortunately, most business owners are unaware of their tax obligations. Accounting assistance will be able to tell you where these tax benefits can help you. More importantly, these experts will assist a person in navigating and comprehending the latest adjustments in company regulations brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. When an economic downturn strikes, it is critical to rely on accounting help.
Financial Advisors
Have you noticed that a growing number of financial advisors and money managers are emerging from the shadows recently? The most basic explanation is that they are in the business of providing services that people will require as the market falls. To put it frankly, their work was designed specifically for current economic downturn.
Business owners, investors, and people with significant investments and assets all want to protect their fortune and ensure that they are well taken care of in the event of a disaster.
It is only normal for us to be concerned and defensive with our resources during a downturn in the economy. Financial advisors frequently advance at this phase because their profession is in high demand. Their sound guidance will inform investors about the various types of investment accounts available.
Information Technology
I.T. occupations are clearly the most in-demand and recession-proof profession in today’s age of technical breakthroughs. Its major task is to promote innovation, which leads to business success. In reality, the current recession is one of the reasons for increased web traffic, which leads to increased sales.
Every department in today’s business world relies on information technology to improve their work method and strategy. A company can’t function without information technology. During this epidemic, the information technology industry has shown a lot of potential for enterprises, especially now that the work-from-home experience is widely accepted. More businesses are allowing employees to work from home.
Close, on the other hand, is an internal dialer software designed to help every sales team achieve maximum growth and productivity. By bringing predictive dialers to their firm and so producing more sales, a company may stay ahead of their competitors with this creation. The website has been up and running since 2013, and it is still developing. This is an excellent example of how information technology modernisation benefits the business world.
Furthermore, Information Technology is one of the key factors that has contributed to the expansion of international trade and markets in recent years. Businesses that engage in linked assets and exploit information technology get closer to the international market, perhaps growing sales despite the recession.
We’ll even go so far as to argue that, in order to increase efficiency, every industry today will need to include information technology. Their service has shown to be beneficial to businesses. Businesses that refuse to adapt to technological improvements face a gloomy future. There are several compelling reasons why information technology is regarded as the world’s fastest-growing industry. Their services are required today and will continue to be required in the future.
Telecommunications
The Telecom business, like Information Technology, is here to stay, regardless of the economy. The consequences of the Coronavirus outbreak only served to emphasize the industry’s importance today.
To communicate online, people need their phones, among other things. As a result, the industry became inextricably linked to the global economy. People are interested in learning how to talk naturally in the local language of their clients as a result of the globalization of consumers. Furthermore, as the telecom industry has innovated, online enterprises have thrived alongside it.
Many people have been able to make money and learn new skills without having to leave their homes thanks to the online sector. People can also sell products online as a result of this sector.
Furthermore, the pandemic breakout prompted institutions to follow suit. Since the implementation of social distance, telecommunication has become a prerequisite in educational institutions, along with the instantaneous rise of study materials.
Despite the fact that some consumers have reduced their devices, telecommunications sales continue to grow, demonstrating that it is one of the most recession-proof industries. Even before the pandemic, the sector had demonstrated its efficacy, and it will undoubtedly play a key part in the current global catastrophe.
Healthcare Services and Providers
Someone will become unwell every now and then. When people are sick, they will always seek medical help, even if their funds are limited. Because of its price inelasticity, the healthcare industry might be considered recession-proof.
Clinical institutions and medical occupations are among the few industries that are unaffected by economic downturns. In difficult economic circumstances, this company is unlikely to cut costs and retrench.
For example, during the Great Recession, the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) assessed nurse employment in the United States. Focusing on the recessionary years of 2007 to 2010, the study found that, despite a nationwide job loss of roughly 7,257,090 million jobs, nurse employment increased by 7.6% over the same period.
Healthcare and food (discussed before) are two key industries that can thrive during a downturn. We’ve even seen the public health response to the COVID-19 outbreak today, and how healthcare providers play a key role in the midst of unprecedented financial instability.
However, due to the unique circumstances and emergencies brought on by the pandemic, several medical industries, such as surgeries, were forced to close and were unable to thrive in comparison to past recessions. Furthermore, we thank our COVID-19 front-line fighters who are risking their lives to combat the virus at this critical time. Doctors and nurses in the front lines, in particular.
Auto Maintenance and Utility Services
During recessions, companies that focus on utilities, repair, and maintenance will likely survive and prosper. People are even returning to do-it-yourself crafts and mending items on their own. Some fixes, however, are simply beyond our control. This is where the service industry comes into play.
Things will eventually fall down as time passes. The so-called wear and tear elements on autos will require special attention. Plumbers will need to inspect a leak in water pipelines for utilities. During times of adversity, the services provided by these handymen remain unaffected. This is also true of companies who sell tools and materials for home and car improvement.
Furthermore, as the current epidemic continues to spread around the world, coronavirus cleaning and disinfection services are gaining popularity as they become more valuable to businesses and residences affected by the outbreak.
Despite widespread uncertainty and the arrival of the new normal, utility services remained afloat and continued their operations alongside new cleaning-related enterprises. You might wonder why this is the case. The simple reason for this phenomena is because such services are already recognized necessary by the general public, particularly in light of today’s global health crises.
Furthermore, with the rise of work-from-home setups in our shelter, the utilities industry is unlikely to fade away anytime soon. Furthermore, businesses would need to engage cleaning services to ensure cleanliness and avoid being cited for health breaches. As a result of post-pandemic ramifications, this sector is here to stay.
The bottom line is that, as a result of the pandemic, everyone appears to be more concerned about hygiene. As a result, demand for cleaning equipment and commercial cleaning services increased dramatically. Cleaning is unquestionably one of the few industries that thrived throughout the COVID era.
Children’s Goods and Dating Industry
Diapers, milk, and bottles, among other basics for a newborn, are almost recession-proof. You must provide for your child regardless of your financial status when you are raising a child. As a result, firms that sell infant and childcare supplies can weather a downturn and rarely fail.
For the sake of their children’s health, parents are now compelled to confine them within their houses. The times have changed, and most parents are now responsible for teaching and entertaining their children. As a result of the pandemic’s consequences, the number of purchases of children’s books, games, and crafts increased dramatically.
Even children’s toys and clothing are recession-resistant for both practical and emotional reasons. The total sales of children’s toys in the United States increased by 27 percent in March of last year. Parents cannot deny the reality that their children grow up quickly, necessitating the purchase of larger clothing and shoes. And, while a toy is only a “wish,” parents will require it to calm their children.
Parents, being the loving, caring individuals that they are, would rather save money in other areas than forego their children’s necessities.
Another consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic today is disturbed family planning, which leads to unwanted pregnancies, as a result of long-term lockdowns and community quarantine. As a result, while starting a recession-proof firm, childcare items cannot be disregarded.
Nonetheless, family planning is still important and should be followed. When family planning is stated, individuals are likely to interpret it as non-sex information. Birth control is only encouraged by family planning. Couples can still be affectionate and fun with lingerie and other such items, but they must use prudence.
On that topic, the pandemic epidemic has shown the corporate world that the dating sector is still alive and well, and recession-proof. As it happens, one piece claims that consumer interest in the subject has not waned.
Courier Services
This is what sets courier services apart from other companies. With the rise of E-commerce during this pandemic, freight and logistics companies are well-positioned and unfazed in today’s global market.
Similarly to maintenance and utility services, industries that provide delivery services are able to stay afloat during economic downturns. During today’s crisis, social distancing established around the world had a good impact on the freight business. Even routine errands like grocery shopping are now available through delivery services like the Grab App, one of Southeast Asia’s most popular mobile apps for consumer mobility. Of course, this means that the industry will have to adjust to the pandemic’s changes.
However, the sector has become sufficiently diverse to reap significant benefits and profit from internet transactions. Furthermore, shipping behemoths may save millions by leveraging fuel, a commodity that often falls in price during economic downturns.
Whatever economic condition we are in, courier services will continue to thrive since consumers are obligated to send parcels from time to time, whether for personal or business reasons. Being able to function and provide that one-of-a-kind kind of support to customers makes them less vulnerable to economic downturns. Furthermore, their ability to target both the BTC and BTB sectors earns them a place among the top recession-proof enterprises.