Management Consulting Job Stability During Recession

How does an economic recession affect the management consulting industry in terms of MBA hires and layoffs? Is there an adverse impact or is the demand for consultants as high during a recession as it is during any other time?

Reason I ask: evaluating whether to drop out of the workforce to attend business school in 2 years or to acquire more rental properties and stay with my current firm. Obviously you can't predict a recession but my limited understanding is that historically we should be due for one sometime within the next 5 years.