What businesses thrived during the Great Depression?

Businesses that did well in the Great Depression

At the very height of the Great Depression (1930-33) hardly any businesses did really well, and success was relative.

As usual in such circumstances it was the 'new' industries that tended to do best, in particular:

• Movies. Almost every town of any size saw the opening of new and bigger cinemas. 'Talkies' added to the popularity of the cinema.

• Radio. In the 1930s radio became widely available to better paid workers.

• Mass produced automobiles. (Not really a new industry, but a 'young' industry).

• Electrical industries. During the 1930s most houses that weren't yet on mains electricity were connected. A huge range of companies did well as a result - ranging from the manufacturers of cables and light switches to those producing electric carpet sweepers and so on.

• At the luxury end of the market, air travel did well - but it was still generally expensive and only for the few.

• The very low interest rates encouraged house building, especially when it was clear that prices had stopped falling.

• In Europe, Germany and then Britain spent huge sum on rearmament from about 1934 onwards.