One company has been looking to one of the world’s oldest professions to gauge the state of the economy—sex work. “The ‘stripper index’ is an unconventional economic indicator that correlates changes in sex work revenue, such as escort pricing, strip club tips, and related search interest, with broader economic cycles,” Erobella states on its website. “It operates on the premise that sex work, being a discretionary luxury, is among the first sectors to feel the pinch during economic downturns.”
Now this is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but everything does, in fact, operate on a cyclical basis. We have those who look at the pizza index for signs of geopolitical turmoil in Washington, and lo and behold, there is some form of a correlation.
Oddly, the creators believe that “economic confidence” is directly tied to the price men are willing to pay for these services. They claim that there was a downturn in searches for sex work ahead of the 2022 downturn, and yet another downturn in searches for “escort” around New York City ahead of the 2008 crash. “Sex work is the ultimate discretionary spend,” it notes. They also stated that cash payments are the primary driver of this industry, causing the industry to be particularly sensitive to downturns ahead of the headlines.
The creators of this unconventional gauge believe that June’s data indicates signs of trouble ahead, with all sex worker-related metrics declining. They found that escort pricing across the UK has declined, and Google searches for “escort” are notably down. Sadly, there is an increase in new hires in the industry as well.
The New York Post also noted that websites such as OnlyFans experienced a decline in revenue during 2022 at the height of inflation.
I would not use this index as a gauge for the economy; it’s more of an interesting concept. Indeed, discretionary spending is the first item to decline ahead of economic downturns. This is one of countless signs that confidence is declining, and consumers are not willing to spend frivolously on extracurricular items to say the least.
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