I was offered a job making 50 bucks an hour today (still thinking about it)....a tad more then my 38 dollars an hour I currently make. I am thinking the economy is booming, but the guy that gets his pink slip today probably thinks it is quite a depression.
Instead, as you drive around look at commercial property (Office buildings, factories, strip malls, mega malls, etc). Do they have empty units? Do they have "For Sale," or "For Lease," signs in front of them? Do many have parking lots that are mostly empty? Was it always like this? If the answer to all these questions is "Yes," except the last, then you probably do not live in the Metro DC area.
ML/NJ