今年6月經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家將宣布大衰退已結(jié)束10年。不過，盡管那次危機(jī)帶來的痛苦回憶已經(jīng)消散，但整體而言投資者想到下一次衰退時會變得更為惶恐。市場波動性大幅上升，原因是較小的經(jīng)濟(jì)回落引發(fā)了頻繁的大規(guī)模拋售。過去12個月，就在美股指數(shù)連創(chuàng)新高之際，投資者從共同基金和交易所交易基金（ETF）中凈撤資約1000億美元，這表明老百姓越發(fā)感到不安。

說到好的一面，經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家會告訴你這些緊張表現(xiàn)背后的謹(jǐn)慎心態(tài)合情合理。實(shí)際上，據(jù)美國國家經(jīng)濟(jì)研究局介紹，77%的經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家預(yù)計2021年底前美國經(jīng)濟(jì)將出現(xiàn)衰退，屆時公司利潤增速將下滑，海外經(jīng)濟(jì)的緩慢增長也將為美國經(jīng)濟(jì)設(shè)下陷阱。但投資者往往會忘記并非所有衰退都會造成股市崩盤。摩根大通資產(chǎn)管理公司首席全球策略分析師大衛(wèi)·凱利指出，此前兩次衰退的嚴(yán)重影響讓我們習(xí)慣于做出最壞打算。凱利說：“我們經(jīng)常假設(shè)，如果出現(xiàn)熊市，那將是一頭‘大灰熊’，但實(shí)際上它也許只是一只‘樹袋熊’。”

不過，就算是樹袋熊也有牙齒，而且任何人都不想被咬。下面，《財富》雜志撰稿人將探討五個不那么知名但能為今后的經(jīng)濟(jì)滑坡提供可靠線索的經(jīng)濟(jì)指標(biāo)，同時就如何應(yīng)對提出建議，以便大家對任何尺寸的“熊”都不會反應(yīng)過度。

In June, economists will mark the 10th anniversary of the end of the Great Recession. But even as traumatic memories of that crisis recede, investors collectively have grown more jittery in anticipation of the next one. Market volatility has soared as relatively minor economic setbacks trigger frequent, dramatic selloffs. And over the past 12 months, at the same time that U.S. stock indexes have notched new records, mutual-fund shareholders have pulled out about $100 billion more from stock mutual funds and ETFs than they put in—a sign of mounting unease among Main Street savers.

Ask the pros and they’ll tell you that the caution underlying those jitters is justified. Indeed, 77% of economists expect a recession by the end of 2021, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, with slowing corporate earnings in the U.S. and sluggish growth abroad stacking the deck against the economy. Investors tend to forget, however, that not all recessions trigger market crashes. David Kelly, chief global strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, argues that the severe impact of the past two recessions has conditioned us to expect the worst. “We often assume when we have a bear market, it’s going to be a grizzly bear,” says Kelly. “But it might just turn out to be a koala bear.”

That said, even koalas have teeth, and nobody wants to get bitten. Here, Fortune’s writers take a look at five lesser-known economic indicators that offer reliable clues about a future slowdown, along with advice about how to react—without overreacting—to bears of any size.