Keyword Searches Around “Recession” and “Bear Market” on the Rise

Consumers and investors concerned about recession and a bear market. A keyword search analysis on “Recession” shows a 77% increase in searches over the past three months. Related phrases show that the public is concerned about the economy and what comes next. A search on “Bear Market” rose 84% in the U.S. over the past 28 days. This is understandable, given the recent stock market turmoil. Given these concerns amid rising interest rates, runaway inflation and high gas prices, consumer behavior may soon start to change.

Key takeaways

• Keyword search on recession is up 77% over the past 28 days. Related searches rose between 36%-88% depending on the particular search term used
• Related search terms including “recession definition” (up 91%), ‘recession 2022” (up 51%), “what is a recession” (up 67%) and “are we in a recession” (up 67%) show that there is widespread concern around the economy, inflation, and recession
• Keyword search on “Bear Market:” up 84% over past 28 days. Related terms “what is a bear market” (up 83%), “bear market definition” (up 85%), bear vs. bull market (up 88%) highlight investor concerns
• Most of these searches are organic in nature. Top referral websites include cnn.com, investopedia.com, cnbc.com, washingtonpost.com, and businessinsider.com. This suggests that the general public along with the investing public has increased concern about a recession

Keyword searches highlight increased concerns over the economy

A look at the table below shows searches on the term “recession” over the past 28 days. It seems that concern over the topic is rising in the United States. In particular, people seem to want to know what the definition of a recession is, whether we are in one, or if we are heading toward one. Also, the search “recession vs. depression” saw an 88% increase over the past 28 days.

Here is a look at searches around the term “Bear Market”.

Concern rising over time

The chart below shows the trend in searches on recession over time. You can see that concern has been rising, particularly for “inflation” “recession” and “bear market” over the past two  months.

Visits to tech layoff sites rising over time

A look at recent web traffic to tech layoff tracking site layoffs.fyi shows rising traffic, perhaps mimicking concern over a recession and the economy. The site tracks tech industry layoffs, with a reported 137,584 employees laid off since March 2020.

Rising traffic to the site could be an indicator that the topic of layoffs is gaining interest, with concern over the economy and job security rising as well.

Conclusion

It’s clear that consumers and investors are increasingly worried about the U.S. economy, inflation, and the stock market. Given these concerns, it seems likely that consumers and investors may change behaviors over the next few months, amid worries about personal wealth, cost of living, and the direction of the economy.

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Methodology

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by Jim Corridore

Senior Analyst

Jim provides insights across multiple sectors. With 30 years on Wall Street and numerous awards for stock-picking, he is a SUNY Albany graduate.