The unexpected optimism market observers sometimes experience during a recession. A rose-colored recession reflects the sometimes unwarranted positivity of the general public following news or data released during a recession; it is still considered bad news, but is better than expected.

The term rose-colored recession was coined during the financial crisis of 2008-2009 in reference to optimism shown by market observers and government officials following bad economic data, such as corporate earnings announcements and unemployment numbers, that were "not as bad as feared" or "bad, but not that bad". Quite often these events led to bear market rallies and predictions of an end to the recession.