Reposessions are still big business in a recession. Here, a repossession agent for Repo-Man.net prepares a car for towing in Fort Myers, Fla., on Feb. 9, 2009.
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Some industries act like financial scavengers during a recession, feasting on the rotten remains of the rest of the economy. For the repo man -- whose job is to repossess vehicles and other property when the owner fails to make payments -- bad news is big business. A total of 1.6 million vehicles were repossessed in 2008, a 12 percent increase from the year before [source: Setters].
Junk removal is another service industry that profits from the misfortune of others. When a bank forecloses on a home, some indebted homeowners skip town and leave all of their possessions behind. For businesses like Miss Junk in Los Angeles, this means monthly revenues of $150,000 during the recession of 2007-2009, 10 times what it earned in its first month in 2007 [source: Ellis].
Bankruptcy lawyers are also very busy during a recession. More than a million people filed for bankruptcy in the United States in 2008. To keep up with the overwhelming demand, 30 percent more bankruptcy lawyers entered the profession [source: Gonzales].
