Fingers Crossed

Detroit’s Can-Do Attitude

Residents optimistic despite ruined economy.

Detroit’s had a barrage of bad news. Its economy was decimated by the collapse of the auto industry, the city has the highest unemployment rate among cities with more than a million residents (16.7 percent), and Michigan has the highest unemployment rate (14.7 percent) among the states. A third of residents say someone at home has lost a job in the past year, according to a new poll. Almost 40 percent say they don’t have the skills to compete in the job market, 42 percent say their neighborhoods have become worse places to live, and 25 percent say they might move away. And yet, a large majority (63 percent) think their city’s future will be brighter, and the same number expect their own finances will improve in the next 10 years. And nearly 75 percent think the auto industry will make a comeback. "We've had so much bad news for so long," a Michigan economist said, "there's a tendency to think that it has to rebound at some point."