Many startups are good to start in recessions, because the new technology they develop is often cheaper than what it replaces. You just have to pitch it from the money-saving side. E.g. if you build something with 2x performance for a given price, then in bad economic times you want to sell it as saving people 50% for a given performance rather than giving people twice the performance for the same price.
(I realize your question was about startups for people who are out of work. I just wanted to point out that that is not the only, or probably the best, type of startup to start in a recession.)
I think that's an excllent point. I know from talking to clients recently looking for some freelance web design work that their primary interest right now is maintaining good cash flow, so they would rather have what you said, the same amount of customers reaching them for a lower price, rather than the potential of more customers for a higher price.
I dont like competing on price in this fashion however, as it feels like a race to the bottom and quality suffers. Although there's not much choice if businesses cant legitimately afford to pay.
(I realize your question was about startups for people who are out of work. I just wanted to point out that that is not the only, or probably the best, type of startup to start in a recession.)