Due to the high amount of investment in Canada, money was still coming in and the dollar was a steady price. During the late 1980s and early 1990s 40% of Canadian families' income fell 4.5%, and only 20% of the Canadians increased 6.6% on average (Internet 5). This was due to many plant closures and layoff. Canada was losing jobs to there partner south of the United States border; Mexico. This era has been known as the lowest economic growth since The Great Depression. Leading economist Pierre Fortin has characterized this period as "the great Canadian slump" " the longest period of below potential growth since the Great Depression (Internet 5). NAFTA has caused a loss of 276, 000 jobs in manufacturing. In food manufacturing, a decrease of 33, 000 jobs occurred, in clothing 36, 000 jobs, in primary metal 23, 000 jobs, in Fabricated Metal Products 19, 000 jobs, in Electrical & Electrical Products 40, 000 jobs, and in Transportation Equipment 1,000 jobs (Internet 3). The only increase was in Machinery (Non Electrical) with 6,000 jobs. It was evident that lots of manufacturing industries were being confiscated from Canada to Mexico, for lower deals in money. Since Mexico had a significant increase in employment, the trading increased from $2.9 billion to $4.3 billion dollars (Hollweck, 1). The employees in Canada could not keep up with inflation and wages which were much slower to gain compared to the huge increase in Mexico's workers productivity. Most of the manufacturing was leaving Canada and The United States towards Mexico. The average hourly compensation for a Canadian manufacturing job was approximately $18.74 per hour, and the average wage in Mexico was $1.51 per hour (Internet 2). They were willing to work at low cost in Mexico where environmental laws are rarely enforced. Low-skill, low-tech jobs, and mid-range manufacturing were opportunities found in the south, and accounted to 15% loss of Canadian manufacturing jobs.