Erobella's Stripper Index
Last updated: 5th May 2025 Current Sentiment: Negative
Our Commentary
"April's data reveals an 8% decline in average hourly escort pricing from its August 2024 peak, with our own internal London escort data showing a sharper 11% drop. Concurrently, Google Trends data for 'escort' searches in New York City has fallen to its lowest level since mid-2018. These trends paint a subdued picture for the sex worker industry, which often serves as an early indicator of broader economic shifts. Historically, declines in escort-related metrics have preceded downturns in market activity, suggesting a potential worsening of the economic outlook in the near term."
— Brenda Jensen, Head of Data & Research at Erobella
Embed this interactive chart on your site:<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 100%; height: 820px; box-sizing: border-box; border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://sage-stardust-d8956b.netlify.app"></iframe><p style="text-align: center; font-size: 12px;"><em>Source: <a href="https://erobella.com/stripper-index/">Erobella</a></em></p>
About the Index
At the heart of the Stripper Index is our one-of-a-kind dataset tracking the average price per hour of UK escorts, starting from January 2023. This isn’t public data - you won’t find it on Google or in any analyst’s report. It’s our proprietary signal, straight from the source, revealing how economic confidence (or caution) shows up in real-time pricing trends. When wallets tighten, luxury spending like sex work takes the first hit, and our data catches it faster than traditional indicators.
To extend our insights back in time, we’ve backfilled historical data using Google Trends for “escort” (and related terms) in New York City, the world’s financial capital. This lets us map the Stripper Index against major market moments, proving its predictive power.
Why the Stripper Index Works
Sex work is the ultimate discretionary spend. When budgets shrink, it’s the first to feel the pinch - often before the headlines catch up:
- 2008 Crash: Google Trends for “escort” in NYC dropped before the Nasdaq and S&P 500 tanked.
- 2022 Downturn: Search interest signaled trouble months before Bloomberg called a recession.
Our exclusive UK pricing data supercharges this insight, giving you a front-row seat to economic shifts as they happen.
Real-Life Case Studies of Stripper Indexes
The "stripper index" is an unconventional economic indicator that correlates changes in sex work revenue - such as escort pricing, strip club tips, and related search interest - with broader economic cycles. It operates on the premise that sex work, being a discretionary luxury, is among the first sectors to feel the pinch during economic downturns. We enhance this concept with proprietary data on the average hourly price of UK escorts from January 2023, backfilled with Google Trends for "escort" and variations in New York City, the financial capital, to extend historical analysis.
The following case studies highlight specific examples, each supported by credible sources, to demonstrate the index's reliability.
Case Study 1: Predicting the 2022 Economic Decline
In May 2022, stripper @botticellibimbo, also known as ReverseCowgirl69, posted on X that "The strip club is sadly a leading indicator and I can promise y’all we r in a recession lmao." This statement was based on her observation of decreased income, which by December 2022 had dropped by half compared to the previous year.
This prediction was echoed by dancers in various locations, including Florida, San Francisco, and a New Jersey bartender, all reporting less business at strip clubs. This early warning signal preceded broader economic data confirming a slowdown, with high inflation, low consumer confidence, and the Federal Reserve raising interest rates by 0.75% on June 15, 2022.
Case Study 2: Forecasting the 2008 Great Recession
A U.S. government-funded study by the Urban Institute found that the sex economy contracted in five out of seven major cities between 2003 and 2007, well before the official start of the 2008 recession. This decline in sex work revenue, with 66.7% of payments being cash, made earnings particularly sensitive to economic strain, as noted in the study. Another academic source, NCBI, further supports this, suggesting that sex workers could have provided an early warning of the impending economic crisis. This historical correlation highlights the Stripper Index's potential as a leading indicator, aligning with Erobella’s backfilled data using New York City Google Trends to extend historical analysis.
Case Study 3: Media Recognition During Past Downturns
During the 2008 recession, media outlets recognized the economic signals from the sex industry. Page Six reported on the "lap deficit," noting that strip clubs were struggling, which mirrored the broader economic contraction. These reports, while not quantitative, provide qualitative support for Erobella’s approach, especially given the historical context of economic downturns.
Case Study 4: Recent Industry Performance Mirrors Economic Trends
In 2022, the financial performance of the strip club industry reflected economic uncertainties. RCI, the only publicly traded strip club company, saw its stock value decrease by more than 20%, contrasting sharply with its gains in 2021, as reported by Forbes and Bloomberg. This decline, observed amidst high inflation and low consumer confidence, aligns with the Stripper Index's premise that discretionary spending on sex work decreases during economic strain.