9 Unexpected Economic Indicators New Men's Underwear Men that made do with their old underwear now are buying new underwear as the economy improves. Men's underwear sales have increased 5.2 percent in the 12 months ending in August 2011, topping $2.58 billion, according to One Block Off the Grid. More Divorces Kim Kardashian is not alone. There has been a surge in divorces since the start of the economic recovery, according to NPR. Divorce is expensive, so with the economy on the rebound, unhappy couples now have the means to divorce. More Haircuts Say goodbye to the recession haircut -- better known as cutting your own hair to save money. Sales at hair salons have increased 5.37 percent since 2009, according to research by Sageworks cited by CNBC. These hair salon sales include not only haircuts, but also hair coloring, according to The Washington Post. More Dinners Out We're now treating ourselves more to a nice meal out. Sales at sit-down restaurants have risen 8.7 percent over the past year, according to government data cited by The New York Times. More Plastic Surgery Notice some of your friends are looking a bit more nipped and tucked lately? That's because plastic surgery procedures often see a boost during better economic times. There were 13.8 million plastic surgeries in 2011: up 5 percent since 2010, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. More Zoo Visits More parents are treating their kids to zoo visits now that the economy is recovering. The Dallas Zoo had record attendance in March: 145,441 paying visitors, up 18 percent from the record set the year before, according to the Dallas Morning-News. More People Quitting When the economy gets better, workers that are unhappy at their jobs are more likely to quit, since they feel they have a better chance of finding a better job. More workers now are quitting than getting fired, according to Labor Department data cited by CNBC. More People Riding The Subway People that used to walk to save money are taking the subway again. More New Yorkers are riding the subway than at any point since 1950, according to NY1. More Dentist Visits People that delayed dentist visits to save money are going to see the dentist again -- possibly to find out they have cavities. Dentist visits are rising thanks to the economic recovery, according to CNBC.