Stable Industries

The companies we're about to list are the best of both worlds: if the economy is good, you can take your paycheck and share in the wealth through the stock market; if the economy is bad, well at least you still have a paycheck!

Food and Beverage

Proctor and Gamble, Frito-Lay, Kraft, Nestle, Post General Mills, Kellogg, Coke, etc. Sure, there are generics on the market, but people tend to make their most irrational economic decisions on small purchases- like paying 70% more for Hershey's brand cocoa that was packaged with the same commodity cocoa as the generic stuff. Not only that, these companies have managed to achieve a markup so astronomically high relative to raw material costs (the packaging of Corn Flakes is more expensive than the product!) that they can easily absorb increased price elasticity- it might not be good for their profit growth or stock price, but they won't go bankrupt either.

Beer and Cigarettes

If you have an ethical problem with these companies, we completely respect that. Even so, these are probably the best industries for surviving a depression, not to speak of a recession. People buy alcohol and nicotine in any economy, and these companies show an unmatched record for consistent growth- meaning opportunities for not only continued employment but also genuine promotions and professional development. Companies like: Phillip Morris, RJ Reynolds, Anheuser-Busch, Coors, Miller, etc.

Low Priced Consumable Essentials

Ditto the same explanation as food and beverage- high margins, generics are not significant because of low price, and people have to buy them- stuff like toothpaste, razors, air filters, moisturizer, etc. Companies like Proctor and Gamble, Johnson and Johnson, Gillette, etc. The nice thing about working for a good "brand" is that the brand and products will likely survive a bankruptcy as long as the business model is still valid, of course under different ownership. An even better idea might be working for a manufacturer of generic rip-offs of brand name products- that's probably a growth industry, though not enough to bring the brands down entirely.