During times of economic stress, consumers apparently hit the bars more and patronize hotels, full-service restaurants and new-car dealers less frequently.

Sageworks Inc., which analyzes financial data of privately held businesses, examined six indulgence industries and found that only one -- bars -- had an uptick in sales in 2009 on average.

They were up 4.1 percent, Sageworks said. Five other industries saw downturns: hotels, 9.9 percent; full-service restaurants, 2 percent; new car dealers, 12.5 percent; golf courses and country clubs, 2.6 percent; and jewelry, luggage and leather goods stores, 8.5 percent.

Sageworks aggregates and summarizes data it receives daily from customers, largely financial professionals such as bankers and accountants.

The numbers suggest that people turned to bars during periods of unemployment stress and economic unrest over the past year, while more pricey establishments such as full-service restaurants and hotels saw less revenue coming in, said Drew White, Sageworks chief financial officer.

But the recession has also been good for privately held technical and trade schools, which saw an 11.7 percent rise in revenue in 2009; sporting goods, hobby and musical instrument stores, up 4.3 percent; and drug stores, up 3.3 percent, Sageworks said.