 The solutions relied on in the past—traditional export crops, the maquiladora assembly industry, and the 1980s' development schemes—appear unlikely to provide enough new jobs for a rapidly growing population.The major economic challenge for Honduras over the next decade will be to find dependable sources of sustainable economic growth.The slowed rate of growth in 2008 (4%, vs. 6.3% in 2007) reflected the general downturn in the world economy that year.