'I'll Know the Recession Is Over When ... '

“When I become first in line at the stroke of noon at our local thrift shop and the pickin’s are more like they were two years ago. Ohhhh, we used to get some gooood stuff.” —Joy Cadden, handbag designer, Millville, Del.

“When our clients go back to hiring us to write their resumés for a promotion or career advancement, not just to get in the door for any type of job.” —Lauren Milligan, career consultant, Downers Grove, Ill.

“When fear and despair in people’s eyes melts to smiles and laughter, and humor shifts from wry and angry to lighthearted.”—Linne Bourget, author and speaker, Phoenix.

“When I wake up in the middle of the night to feed my newborn, not just to worry about my 401(k).” —Marc Freedman, Civic Ventures, San Francisco.

“When I don’t have to worry every week about making payroll in my husband’s dental office—something I never had to worry about before.” —Lori Reader, office manager, Melbourne, Fla.

“When I can rehire the employees I had to lay off.” —Steven L. Carter, contractor, Santa Monica, Calif.

“When I can put my house on the market for more than it is worth.” —Melora Hardin, actress

“When my commission is more than I pay my baby-sitter.” —Kelly Brockington, high-end retail, New York

“When I get a job.” –Norm Elrod, Jackson Heights, N.Y.

“When the line at the church for assistance at the food bank is shorter.” —Robert Bogan, volunteer church administrator, Fort Washington, Md.

“When I spend more time finding boxes to ship my art than places in my studio to store it.” —Pablo Solomon, artist, Lampasas, Texas

“When my patients go back to talking about how much they hate their mother, rather than how much they hate the government for getting them into this financial mess.” —Carole Lieberman, psychiatrist, Beverly Hills, Calif.

“When I stop putting up with two malfunctioning keys on my piano and finally call in the tuner.” – Clyde Haberman, columnist, New York Times

“When I no longer count mail-in rebates as income.” —Nancy Lombardo, comedian, New York

“When friends stop calling for a ‘small favor’… a small loan.”— Marc Levin, filmmaker (Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags)

“When the people wandering the shopping mall don’t look like they’re there for a cheap thrill because they don’t really have money to buy.” —Sohini Baliga, communications consultant, Vienna, Va.

Despite the general angst, some people see glimmers of hope.

“There are signs that the economic thaw is well under way, at least for most people,” says Stephen Dubner, coauthor of SuperFreakonomics. “I see it in the way parents at my kids’ school are once again talking about their kids instead of their financial worries,” he says. “I see it in the way people smile as they eat in restaurants and talk about things they love and hate, and whether the Yankees deserved to win the World Series again.”

Gus Faucher, director of macroeconomics for Moody’s Economy.com, is also optimistic. “Industrial production is up, retail sales have stabilized,” he says. “But people aren’t going to realize that until the job market turns around, and typically the labor market doesn’t turn around until six to nine months after the recession ends.”

Americans may have to continue to slog their way out of this recession. Not even those masters of comedy and magic, Penn and Teller, can make it go away.

“Every night after our show in Vegas our fans ask, ‘Can you do some magic and make this recession disappear?’ ” says Penn Jillette. “Unfortunately, we have to tell them we can only use our powers for evil.”

Economic indicators may be saying that the recession is over, says former New York City Mayor Ed Koch. But, he adds, “it’s not over for anyone unemployed and looking for a job.” 

Cathie Gandel writes about business and the economy. She lives in the New York area.