In Case You Were Wondering, Here's What Sells Well on the Black Market

Where there is demand, there will be supply – even if that supply is illegal.

The black market will always be with us. Indeed, even in normal, healthy economies, demand for illicit goods exists. But it’s when things start to get rough (i.e. when normal costs/access to goods and services increase) that the black market really thrives.

So in this day and age of quantitative easing, high unemployment (both here and abroad), emerging markets, and shaky economic alliances, it’s interesting to see how the black market is performing.

In short, it’s doing extremely well.

The number of jobs created globally by the black market is roughly 1.8 billion, according to Finance Degree Center, and illicit trade in the U.S. is valued at around $625.63 billion.

Here to help you visualize the health of the black market and its big movers and shakers is a chart from the folks at Finance Degree Center. Enjoy:

Click here for more data on the chart's numbers.

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