BY BARBARA ROSS and LARRY McSHANE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Sunday, October 12th 2008, 10:38 AM

It's still a good time to be morally bankrupt.

The plunging Dow Jones and panicky investors are hardly a problem for the world's oldest profession, where business is still brisk.

"The market is down, business is down, but we feel it less," said Dylan, 24, a promotional model-turned-Manhattan prostitute. "We're still busy."

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The long-haired, long-legged hooker then explained why the red-light district remains a blue-chip commodity: "If men are horny, they're going to come in here."

Take that, Ben Bernanke.

Dylan works for a Manhattan madam who runs a pair of prostitution dens north of Wall Street. Unlike the $4,000-an-hour girls of male fantasies or gubernatorial road trips, Madam Sadie's employees charge $260 for 60 minutes - or $160 for 30 minutes.

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"The $1,000-an-hour girls are just not making it" with the economic downturn, the madam said. The faltering economy actually drove two of her newer employees to the madam's sex-peddling service from other careers.

Shana, 42, lost her $45,000-a-year job as a secretary last year. Sienna was laid off in July from her job as an executive assistant with a travel agency.

Shana, who worked briefly as a waitress before hooking up with her current gig, is putting her son through college.

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"He's trying to get an engineering degree," she explained. "With the economy the way it is, how is my son going to get a loan? And he's going to finish college."

Co-worker Sara, a 26-year-old former hairstylist, said her services provide businessmen with a break from the grim realities of their 9-to-5 jobs.

"Some of them seem depressed, and they just want a place to get away from it," said the petite, dark-haired woman.

Sadie admits her business has suffered a bit in the fiscal crisis. Some clients are cutting back on their spending, and some aren't returning, she said.

Sienna, who's earning a graduate degree in English literature, mentioned a Manhattan banker who's among her regulars. He now spends less time and money - although he doesn't miss his regular appointments.

"He used to spend at least an hour or two," she said. "Lately he's down to a half-hour, and he's no longer a big tipper."

But Dylan said business was steadier in her new position than when she was chasing down modeling jobs.

"The money is good in that field," she said, "but you don't always get the work."