Students still concerned with Windsor's economy
By Matthew Burnett
Lance Writer
October 17, 2007
With Canada’s unemployment rate at its lowest in 33 years, and the same figure at an all-time high in Windsor, many students feel compelled to leave the city in search of more stable and better paying employment.
According Statistics Canada’s current Labour Force Report, the country’s unemployment rate has dipped to 5.9 per cent for the first time since 1974.
However, while public sector and other kinds of employment are growing at an unprecedented pace, the nation’s manufacturing industry continues to deteriorate.
Statistics Canada claims Ontario alone has seen 44,000 manufacturing jobs evaporate over the first nine months of the year.
Windsor’s economy, in particular, has been hit hard by such losses. The good news is that the worst times may already be over.
Matthew Fischer, Chief Executive Officer for the Windsor-Essex Development Commission, sees no reason for students in Windsor to worry about whether they will be able to find jobs here after finishing school.
Fischer points out that all ‘Big Three’ auto makers have announced their restructuring plans.
Furthermore, Statistics Canada maintains that total income per person in Windsor remains above the national average, at $28,700.
“Essentially, what’s happened in Windsor is we have just come off a 15-year growth spurt in which the economy expanded by a full third,” said Fischer.
“The city’s economic base is undergoing a massive restructuring, and it’s been a long time coming.”
Despite these claims, a great portion of Windsor’s students are concerned that they are pursuing degrees in a city that is currently suffering from an obvious trend toward unemployment while the rest of Canada is booming.
“I have an idea what I want to do after school, but nothing is certain here,” said second-year student and part-time Chrysler employee, Natalie Lahoud. “Without a doubt, if I can’t find what I’m looking for here, I will leave the city.”
Lahoud, who works at Chrysler’s vehicle assembly plant on Walker Road, says she has no intention of ever working full-time in manufacturing.
“I’m a business major and I want to specialize in marketing…if I’m going to spend a number of years in school studying something I’m passionate about, then I want to pursue a career that matches that.”
Lahoud tries to remain confident she will be able to follow through with her career aspirations in Windsor, even though the city is recognized nationally as a hub for blue-collar work.
While most Windsor citizens look at the city’s dependency on the automotive industry as its biggest downfall, Fischer firmly believes Windsor’s ties to car production will not evaporate overnight. “The auto industry is not going to go away. We’ll always be known as an auto town,” he declared.
When asked why the disappearance of manufacturing jobs has had such a significant effect on Windsorites, Fischer did not deny those jobs are missed.
The problem is that manufacturing jobs were high-paying. They gave Windsor a very high standard of living.”
Though he admits the city is currently going through troublesome times, Fischer suggests Windsor residents be patient during this key time in the community’s history.
“There is a very bright future for Windsor because of our geographic location. We are in an enviable location. The economy just needs a little time to go through this transformation,” he stated.
It is difficult to tell whether Windsor’s economy really is just going through a transformation, or whether it is on the verge of collapse.
FutureDirectInvestment’s fDi Magazine, however, recognized Windsor with the North American small City of the Future award.
Also, the current $400 million Casino Windsor expansion and the University of Windsor’s plans for engineering and medical schools provide more signs of hope for city residents.
Fischer says that the local economy needs to be more diversified. Students cannot expect the process to be quick, however. “We can’t speed it up, we can only maybe nudge it a bit.”
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