Hot Waitress Economic Index

The hot waitress economic index is an informal measure of the state of the economy that is compiled by counting the number of attractive people working as waiters/waitresses. According to the hot waitress index, the higher the number of good looking servers, the weaker the current state of the economy. It is assumed that attractive individuals do not tend to have trouble finding high-paying jobs during good economics times. During poor economic times, these jobs will be more difficult to find and therefore more attractive people will be forced to work in lower paying jobs such as being waiters/waitresses. The hot waitress index was first articulated by Hugo Lindgren in a piece for New York Magazine.

The hot waitress economic index hasn't been vetted by economists. Traditional economic theory contends that employment tends to be a lagging indicator for economic recovery. However, the hot waitress economic index could be a coincident or even a leading indicator for economic recovery because attractive people may be the first group of individuals to find better paying jobs when a bad economy begins to turn around. There is actually some research backing up the hot waitress index. Scientists have found that attractive people tend to be considered more capable and are more confident, and these two things combine to get them better jobs and higher wages. So when attractive people are waiting tables - traditionally a lower skill, lower pay job - it suggests there is a lack of better jobs out there. 

The hot waitress economic index can be a regional phenomenon. The number of hot waitresses in Houston, for example, may say more about Houston's local economy than the national economy. Don't worry, though. There are plenty of strange economic indicators that apply on the national level. Complementing the hot waitress index are things like the toughness of marine advertisements, the men's underwear index and the leading lipstick indicator. So, in a difficult economy, you can not only expect a more attractive waitress, but you will see tougher marine recruitment ads on tv (because they meet recruitment goals quickly in down economies, so they don't need to worry about scaring people away), men's underwear sales will dip (you can ride that pair out a bit longer to avoid the cost - holes are just more ventilation), and lipstick sales will go up (as women turn to smaller, less expensive personal luxuries). If you have a hot, lipstick wearing waitress who turns out to be a former marine laid off from a sales job in men's underwear, the economy is probably burning down around you.