Diversifying the State’s economy is urgent

Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua.- The setback by Chihuahua’s Gross Domestic Product in the last decade was caused by its high dependency on processing industry, and therefore specialists called to draft a plan focused on diversifying economy and putting money on other productive sectors. “The diagnosis made by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) showed us that the State of Chihuahua was the only state in Mexico which shrank economically between 2000 and 2010”, Jorge Contreras Fornelli, Chairman of Ciudad Juarez Economic Development, pointed-out. An analysis of figures from the Mexican Social Security Institute, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), shows that such dependency is stronger in Juarez, where Processing Industry accounts for 6.16% of formal jobs, followed by Services to Companies and People with 13.5%; Commerce with 11.6%, Social Services with 6.5% and Construction with 2.6%. “Foreign investment is important, but strengthening domestic industry is even more important”, Mr. Contreras said.