The socio-economic impact of the global recession on Stratford, St.Marys and Perth County (2009)
Download Facing the Future – Socio Economic Impact Report (2009) (PDF)
Imagine being told the factory where you’ve worked for over 20 years is closing – for good – and you’re soon going to be jobless. To make matters worse, your husband is also out of a job because he works there too.
Gone are the $75,000 annual family income and all the benefits you both took for granted for all those years. Just think – kids to support, a mortgage and no post-secondary education, in fact no high school diploma. What do you do? Where do you turn? How do you begin to start over?
What would you do if you lost your job at 58? Too young to retire, but too old to be considered a catch by another employer. And try and imagine going from a $24-an-hour job, to Employment Insurance benefits of $472 a week, which will eventually run out just like your savings. Still without a job, you’re forced to apply for social assistance, which means you’ve now got an even bigger challenge – how to live on just $572 a month.
These are the kinds of situations an increasing number of Perth County residents are facing as the impact of the global recession is absorbed locally.
