"12 Signposts That Indicate That
A Monumental Economic Meltdown Is Now Upon Us"
by Michael Snyder
"We live at a time when the pace of change is so rapid that it can be overwhelming at times. More change occurs in a single month than happened during most entire years when I was growing up. When I pull up the news each day, there is always a fresh serving of chaos awaiting me. Unfortunately, chaos is not good for the economy. The U.S. dollar is in the process of dying, debt levels are exploding all around us, more mass layoffs have been announced within the past 24 hours, and the cost of living crisis is absolutely crushing most Americans. Those that can look at the information that I am about to share with you and say “everything is fine” are simply not being rational. The following are 12 signposts that indicate that a monumental economic meltdown is now upon us…
#1 Consumer confidence just fell to the lowest level that we have seen in 12 years…"America’s economic mood deteriorated in January to its lowest level in more than a decade as consumers fretted about geopolitical tensions, affordability and President Donald Trump’s unrelenting trade war. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index for January, released Tuesday, declined 9.7 points to a reading of 84.5, the lowest since 2014, surpassing the lows of last year when Trump unveiled stiff tariffs and the depths of the pandemic recession in 2020. January’s reading came in much lower than the 91.1 reading economists projected in a poll by data firm FactSet."
#2 One recent survey discovered that 56 percent of U.S. workers are experiencing serious financial strain…"Social media is rife with tearful videos of how hard it has become to make ends meet. Some 14% of workers can’t or struggle to pay their bills each month, PwC found. Another 42% pay their bills with little or nothing left over for savings. PwC says that’s more than half of the workforce experiencing financial strain in 2025. “I have to work 40 hours a week just so I can have a place to live,” one woman said in one Instagram post. “Forty hours a week makes me $2000 a month and my rent is $1,660. So I work 40 hours a week so I can have a two-bedroom apartment and an extra $300 a month. Like, that doesn’t even cover my phone, internet, food.”
#3 According to the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity, the percentage of the U.S. workforce that is “functionally unemployed” has risen to a whopping 25.2 percent…"Employment researchers are warning that the share of Americans who are only loosely attached to the labor force is on the rise, and that the true rate of unemployment may be far higher than official figures suggest. According to a new report from the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity (LISEP), 25.2 percent of the U.S. workforce could now be classified as “functionally unemployed” - meaning jobless, seeking but unable to secure full-time employment or earning “poverty-level wages.”
#4 It is being reported that 1,500 HR employees that work for Amazon are facing the axe…"Amazon is expected to cut more jobs within its human resources team by a significant margin. According to Fortune, the e-commerce giant is preparing to lay off approximately 15% of its HR department — equivalent to around 1,500 of the 10,000 HR employees. It is currently unknown when the layoffs will take place, and how many jobs in the Puget Sound region are at risk."
#5 At one time, Pinterest was flying high. But now harder times are here and it intends to fire close to 15 percent of its entire workforce…"Pinterest said Tuesday it plans to lay off less than 15% of its workforce and cut back on office space as the company embraces artificial intelligence. In a securities filing, Pinterest said it expects the cuts will be complete by the end of its third quarter in late September. Shares of Pinterest slid more than 9%."
#6 Nike just announced that it will be eliminating 775 jobs…"Nike is planning to cut nearly 800 jobs amid an automation push at the footwear and apparel giant’s distribution centers. The company is cutting 775 jobs that will primarily impact jobs at the retailer’s distribution centers in Tennessee and Mississippi as the company looks to automate more of its supply chain. The news was first reported by CNBC, citing people familiar with the matter."
#7 Not to be outdone by any of the companies mentioned above, UPS plans to throw up to 30,000 employees into the streets this year…"United Parcel Service plans to cut up to 30,000 workers this year as it moves to cut costs, the delivery giant’s chief financial officer said Tuesday. “In terms of semi-variable costs, we expect to reduce operational positions by up to 30,000,” UPS CFO Brian Dykes said during a company earnings call. “This will be accomplished through attrition, and we expect to offer a second voluntary separation program for full-time drivers.”
#8 The Washington Post is preparing for “big layoffs”, and that could include the entire sports department…"The Washington Post has been around for nearly 150 years and had a sports section for almost as long. But after years and years of declining revenue, it appears that big layoffs are coming – and the sports section could be gutted hardest of all. According to Dylan Byers of Puck, “massive layoffs” are set to hit The Washington Post in the days to come with the foreign desk being hit hard. However, Byers noted that the sports desk is rumored to be getting “shuttered entirely.”
#9 The largest mall in San Francisco has been permanently closed even sooner than expected…"San Francisco’s beleaguered Westfield San Francisco Centre shopping mall closed its doors earlier than expected. The city’s largest mall, which saw a string of retailers leave in recent months, closed on Saturday, two days ahead of schedule, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. A sign reading “closed until further notice” was posted at the front entrance of the once-bustling shopping center, the outlet reported."
#10 Pending home sales in the United States just fell “to the lowest level for any December on record”…"Pending home sales, which track the number of contracts signed in December, plunged by 9.3% seasonally adjusted from November, to the lowest level for any December on record in the data by the National Association of Realtors, which goes back to 2010. Compared to December 2010, during the Housing Bust, pending sales were down by 21.5%. The market is now well into its fourth year of the collapse in transactions, and there has simply been no improvement."
#11 The U.S. dollar just declined for a fourth consecutive day, and it is now at the lowest level that we have seen in four months…"The U.S. dollar fell for a fourth straight day on Tuesday, slipping to a four-month low, as traders kept watch for possible coordinated currency intervention by U.S. and Japanese authorities and a Federal Reserve interest rate decision."
#12 If someone tries to convince you that the U.S. dollar is not dying, just show them this chart…
When the value of the U.S. dollar declines, the purchasing power of our money goes down. Meanwhile, the price of silver is currently sitting at 110 dollars an ounce. Many of us have been warning that all of this was coming, and now it is happening right in front of our eyes. Our leaders have been making very bad decisions for decades, and now we are paying the price. But if you think that things are bad now, just hold on tight, because things are going to get even more chaotic in the months ahead."
