The R-Word Index closed at 49 on , placing public recession concern in the Elevated band. That's up 6 points from a week earlier, when the index was 43. The index is a daily 0–100 signal derived from public human-authored writing online, not from media headlines or official indicators.
What the data shows
The Take Concern about recession is holding steady at elevated levels, even as overt recession talk fades from everyday chatter.
What's Happening Today’s R-Word Index has dipped slightly but remains firmly in the Elevated zone—signaling that unease about the economy is still running high beneath the surface. What’s striking is the gap between how people are speaking and how much they’re actually using the word “recession.” While direct mentions are at their quietest in months, anxiety is showing up in subtler ways—worries about layoffs, inflation, and job market instability are dominating conversations.
This week, the mood is shaped by stories of wage pressure, global supply shortages, and the threat of more job cuts, not just in the US but also in China’s professional class. People are connecting the dots between these issues and a broader sense of economic uncertainty, even if they’re not naming recession explicitly. That’s why concern is moving more through the texture of conversations than through raw word counts.
Looking Ahead Unless headlines shift dramatically, expect this undercurrent of unease to stick around—people are still worried, just less likely to call it a recession by name.
This reflects public sentiment, not economic conditions.
Why this matters today
Rate hike Wednesday: 25bp to 3.75–4%, the first since July 2023, vote 12–0. This index did not spike on it — 51 Tuesday, 49 Wednesday, a third straight day above its weekly average. R-Word Index: 49, Elevated. https://rwindex.app #Fed
Posted on @R_World_Index on .
How this compares
A week earlier the index was 43. That's a rise of 6 points over seven days.
The last two weeks
The R-Word Index is built from public human-authored writing — not media headlines. How this index is calculated.
A new daily reading — with the headline takeaway — is posted every morning on X. Follow @R_World_Index to catch the next update before it lands here.
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