When it comes to recession, avoiding the problem may actually make it go away

According to the latest Nielsen Economic Current, small business owners can help improve their working capital and bottom line by simply staying quiet about the recession.

The study, released this week, found that the less people discuss the recession, the more consumer spending increases.

Luckily for small business owners, that is what has been happening in the United States since March of this year, Nielsen found.

Since the March survey, online recession buzz has dropped 69 percent, correlating with a 0.2 percent average weekly increase in consumer purchase behavior for the same period.

When recession buzz was at its highest - between December and March, peaking in January - the average weekly change in unit sales was down 2.3 percent.

Economies around the world are benefitting from this lack of recession discussion, Nielsen found, with data indicating that global recession buzz has decreased 47 percent since March.

"While discussions about the recovery are still quite low, we have seen that the public is talking less about the recession - often dramatically less," said James Russo, vice president of global consumer insights for Nielsen. "This is an important dynamic as we look to signs of a sustained recovery."

While the unemployment rate - currently at 9.5 percent - is expected to continue to rise slightly, Nielsen predicted a rebound in consumer expenditure and GDP by 2010.