
Industries Thriving in the Recession
Contrary to public belief, some industries are doing well in the recession. Unemployment remains high, but the private sector is still swinging.








![Raw material manufacturers, which produce steel, wood and other metals, are still struggling and posted the biggest decreases in sales revenue. Metal and mineral wholesalers took the top spot, showing a nearly 30% decrease. White says this can be directly attributed to the failing housing market as these goods are used primarily to build new homes. “We’re seeing the lack of demand [for new homes] trickle all the way down the supply line,” White says. Just how far does this reach? Air conditioner manufacturers are, well, feeling the heat. Sales are down this year by 21.4%. Photo Credit: woodleywonderworks](https://www.thestreet.com/.image/c_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cg_face%2Ch_80%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_80/MTY4NjI2MzUyNDkxNjAzNTkx/the-other-end-of-the-spectrum.jpg)


Contrary to public belief, some industries are doing well in the recession. Unemployment remains high, but the private sector is still swinging.
Contrary to public belief, not all businesses are in the red. In fact, recent jobs numbers show that, though unemployment in general remains high, employment continues to rise in the private sector, where 67,000 jobs were added last month. Financial analysis company Sageworks, who collects profit and loss data from the private sector, confirms that business is booming in certain private industries. Unfortunately, their success may not paint as positive of a picture as one would think. MainStreet takes a look at the data, which compares sales revenue from year over year, to find out which private industries are, in fact, thriving in the recession and what that might say about our current economic climate. Photo Credit: Getty Images