The Biden administration has given us an economy in which homelessness is at an all-time high, demand at food banks is at an all-time high, and poverty is growing all around us. The rising cost of living is absolutely crushing households throughout the nation, and now delinquencies are rising, businesses are going bankrupt at a staggering pace, and mass layoffs are happening from coast to coast. We won’t officially know whether we are in a “recession” at this moment or not until months from now, but I guarantee you that it certainly feels like a “recession” to millions upon millions of us. Our economic momentum has been rapidly taking us in the wrong direction for a long time, and the level of economic pain that we are witnessing right now is truly frightening. The following are 11 signs that a recession in the U.S. may have already started…
#1 Approximately half a million businesses filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. in 2024. That represented a 14 percent increase compared to the previous year…
Last year in 2024, about 500,000 businesses filed for bankruptcy. That’s 14% more than the year prior.
#2 More than 7,000 stores closed in the U.S. in 2024, and it is being projected that 15,000 stores will close in the U.S. in 2025…
And new data by Coresight predicts 2025 could see yet more closures.
It predicts 15,000 stores could close this year, and places particular emphasis on more Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings, liquidations, and total overhauls (for those retailers that can afford to stay open and remake their business).
#3 Home sales are even lower than they were during the Great Recession. In fact, sales of existing homes haven’t been this low in almost 30 years…
Existing home sales in the U.S. in 2024 were the lowest in nearly 30 years, as home prices hit an all-time high.
The National Association of Realtors released data that showed existing home sales declined to the lowest level since 1995 last year, with 4.06 million homes sold on an annual basis.
#4 A majority of the U.S. population struggles to afford “their regular rent or mortgage payments”…
Nearly 70% of single, divorced or separated people struggle to afford their regular rent or mortgage payments, compared to just over half (52%) of married people, according to a recent Redfin-commissioned survey. More than three-quarters (76%) of respondents who live with their partner but aren’t married struggle with housing payments, making them the group most likely to struggle.
#5 The proportion of U.S. homeowners that are seriously delinquent on their mortgage payments is rising…
A rising number of homeowners, particularly first-time home buyers and military members and veterans, are missing their monthly payments — and one group says it could be the “canary in the coal mine.”
In 2024, the share of serious delinquencies — which refers to mortgage loans that are over 90 days past due but are not in active foreclosure — rose to the highest level in nearly two years, according to a monthly report by Intercontinental Exchange, or ICE.
#6 Mass layoffs are occurring all over the country. For example, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram has decided to give the axe to approximately 3,600 workers…
The layoffs, according to Zuckerberg, would target “low-performers.” The layoffs will amount to roughly 3,600 people losing their jobs, according to a Bloomberg report.
“I’ve decided to raise the bar on performance management and move out low-performers faster,” said Zuckerberg in an internal memo cited by Bloomberg. “We typically manage out people who aren’t meeting expectations over the course of the year, but now we’re going to do more extensive performance-based cuts during this cycle.”
#7 Workday has announced that over 1,700 of their employees will be hitting the bricks…
Finance and human resources software company Workday is laying off 1,750 employees, essentially cutting down its total workforce by 8.5%.
Workday CEO Carl Eschenbach said in a note to employees Wednesday that the mass layoffs were a “difficult, but necessary, decision” as the firm clears resources to help expand its global presence and prioritizes the demand for AI.
#8 One expert that was interviewed by CNN is warning that the employment picture is deteriorating because “you’ve already got companies hiring as if they’re in a recession”…
“That leaves us in a situation where things can essentially flip quite quickly, because you’ve already got companies hiring as if they’re in a recession — even if they’re not laying people off,” Oliver Allen, senior US economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, told CNN this week.
#9 The Washington Post is reporting that employers that rely on government contracts “are starting to lay off workers”…
Private-sector employers and nonprofits are starting to lay off workers as a result of the Trump administration’s sweeping cuts and funding freezes, unleashing a wave of job losses that economists say could pick up steam in the coming weeks, threatening the broader labor market.
The tally appears to be about several thousand private-sector jobs lost in the past two weeks since federal funding cuts and freezes took hold. More than 7.5 million Americans work in jobs directly connected to the federal government, according to the Brookings Institution, as contractors or grant workers — some of whom are already out of a job. And there are millions more who work in positions indirectly connected to federal funding delays.
#10 It appears that a trade war with China has begun. This will have serious implications on both sides of the Pacific…
China has imposed retaliatory tariffs on the US, hitting about $14bn worth of goods and dashing hopes that a trade war between the world’s two largest economies could be avoided.
Beijing announced the tariffs last week in response to a US decision to impose an additional 10 per cent levy on Chinese products, which US President Donald Trump called an “opening salvo” in a renewed trade offensive against China.
#11 It appears that a trade war with the EU is rapidly approaching. This will have serious implications on both sides of the Atlantic…
The EU has issued a blistering statement hitting out at Donald Trump’s threats to impose huge 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports into the US.
The levy will essentially mean a tax on the vital manufacturing materials which could massively impact producers in the UK, Europe, as well as American neighbours, Mexico and Canada.
I don’t see any way that we are going to avoid severe economic pain, and there are many prominent voices that very much agree with that assessment.
For example, Ed Dowd just made the following statements during an interview with Greg Hunter…
“We are seeing a recession in 2025. The rest of the globe is already starting to roll over. It’s going to be a worldwide recession. There is going to be a mini housing crisis. Housing has been stagnant for the better part of the year. There is no transaction volume, and nobody can afford homes. We are hitting the 18-year housing cycle. The last housing cycle was in 2007, and you add 18 years and you get 2025…
The economy for the middle-class is going down. . . . As time goes on, we are going to see GDP numbers go lower and lower and lower. . . . It’s kind of a perfect storm for the Trump Administration. There is no way to avoid the pain.”
We are definitely facing a “perfect storm”, and it is going to be extremely intense.
Apparently hedge funds can see what is coming too, because they are “making a multi-billion-dollar gamble against the US economy”…
Hedge funds are making a multi-billion-dollar gamble against the US economy, betting Donald Trump’s presidency will result in a massive market crash that could devastate 401(k)s, pensions, and household savings across America.
Data from Goldman Sachs has sent shockwaves through financial circles, revealing a dramatic surge in ‘short’ positions against US stocks – a move that signals a belief the market is headed for a precipitous crash.
Throughout January, investors placed 10 times more bets on American stocks falling than on their continued rise, a staggering shift that reflects growing unease over Wall Street’s future under Trump’s leadership.
Needless to say, our society is not going to be able to handle what is ahead.
Unfortunately, our people riot even when something good happens to them…
Thousands of Eagles fans spilled out of bars and onto the streets of Philadelphia Sunday night after watching their team defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in Super Bowl LIX.
The city had opted not to grease the light poles even though a fan died two weeks ago after falling from a light pole after the NFC Championship Game. Despite that tragedy, Eagles fans showed no hesitation in climbing to the top of light poles, cars, construction vehicles, garbage trucks, small buildings, and almost anything else they could find.
Apparently quite a bit of looting was going on as well.
According to one report, “the looting went on through the evening”…
Shortly after the team’s victory, two years after losing to the Chiefs in the same game, Eagles fans looted a linen truck, prompting a police response.
In a video shared on X, fans were seen crowding around a laundry truck and throwing folded linens from inside out into the crowds.
Philadelphia Police asked crowds to ‘disperse and leave city centre streets’, but the celebrations of the Eagles’ win and the looting went on through the evening.
If these people will riot and loot while conditions are still at least somewhat relatively stable, how will they behave during a full-blown societal meltdown?
As economic conditions in this country continue to deteriorate, we are going to see so much chaos in the streets.
Those that are wise will prepare accordingly.
Michael’s new book entitled “Why” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “Why” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written eight other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing. You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter. Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.