Serious floods in 1939, 1975, 1984 and 1995 underscored the need for more investments in infrastructure and by 2002, the combined effects of a wave of imports and an acute economic crisis led to the closure of most of Pergamino's industries and many of its retail establishments; the textile industry, in particular, was reduced to about 600 workers; amid rising unemployment, crime rates and general pessimism, one of the most notable achievements in that difficult era was the establishment of the Pergamino Regional University, the city's first institution of higher learning, in 1993. The school was absorbed into the National University of Northwestern Buenos Aires upon that latter entity's creation in 2002, and its Pergamino campus today enrolls about 500 students yearly.