Debt rises after a recession, primarily (7)
I believe the answer is:
arrears
'debt' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'rises after a recession primarily' is the wordplay.
'rises' becomes 'rears' (rearing is a kind of rising**).
'after' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'primarily' indicates taking the first letters.
The initial letter of 'recession' is 'r'.
'a'+'r'='ar'
'rears' put after 'ar' is 'ARREARS'.
(Other definitions for arrears that I've seen before include "Overdue debt" , "Outstanding payments" , "Total unpaid debt" , "Outstanding money" , "Money still owed" .)