Here’s the deal:

Economic indicators come in many forms but we don’t usually associate the word quirky with them.

Until now.

Kiplinger.com has a new list of 10 Quirky Economic Indicators to measure the depth and breadth of today’s economy using clues from everyday life. Some are obvious, some aren’t:

Dry-cleaning pickups are down because of the poor economy, according to Kiplinger.com’s finding based on the 5,000-member International Drycleaning and Laundry Institute. Their customers have cut back on visits, and some are dragging their feet when it comes to picking up their clean clothes because they’re trying to avoid their bills.

On the other hand, sales of eye makeup at supermarkets and drugstores are up. In the one-year period that ended March 22, shoppers spent more than $260 million on eyeliner and mascara. Lipstick, a popular and cheap luxury, used to be a leading indicator when times were bad but Kiplinger.com found that lipstick sales are actually down 11 percent in the current recession.

Page-turning romance novels are taking lots of minds off of the economy, at least at the famous Harlequin publishing house. Sales in 2008 were up 32 percent from the year before, and this year, sales are still strong, Kiplinger.com reports. Harlequin said the same thing happened in the early ‘90s recession when people bought up their low-priced books.

Keeping with the romance theme, at the close of 2008 online dating service Match.com had its busiest fourth quarter in seven years. The speculation is that people want a social distraction when the Dow dips.

Two other industry groups gave Kiplinger.com a pair of obvious indicators. More people are planting their own fruits, berries, veggies and herbs to save money. The National Gardening Association figures there are 43 million of us gardeners in the United States this year and more than half are on a mission to spend less at the grocery store.

And the National Association of Theatre Owners reports that the number of movie tickets sold in the first three months of last year jumped 9 percent. Box-office sales have gone up in all of the last five recession years, the association says.

Who says economics has to be boring?

Here’s the Deal is a column of opinion by business editor Lisa Monti. She can be reached at 896-2311 or lamonti@sunherald.com.

Posted at www.sunherald.com on July 2, 2009