Narayan AmmachchiThe contact center industry in the United States is currently booming, with call centers generating more than 16,000 jobs during the third quarter of this year.
“Between July 1, 2014 and September 30, as many as 16,080 net new U.S. contact center jobs were created,” reported anti-offshoring lobby firm Jobs4america, citing a study from Dallas-based Site Selection Group.
The outsourcer that generated the most call center jobs was Atlanta-based firm Chime Solutions, which added 1,120 employees to its workforce.
“The American Contact Center Industry continues to show strong growth,” stated Matt Zemon, Chairman of jobs4america. “We also commend all the organizations that are choosing to outsource to BPOs with a strong U.S. presence including Chime Solutions, Teletech and Liberty-Source.”
President Obama’s healthcare law, increasing access to high-speed Internet, rising overseas labor costs and the changing demands of customers are the main factors driving the growth of onshore call center industry. Obamacare alone led to the birth of thousands of call center jobs across the United States.
A BDO survey of 100 CFOs found that just 12% of firms currently maintain offshore contact centers or help desks. That’s a dramatic drop from 35% in 2009 and 19% last year. According to an article on Jobs4america.com, more than five million Americans work in contact centers, many of them are home-based.
Some corporate firms are openly talking of bringing jobs back to the United States. General Motors, for example, closed its call center in Argentina and moved most of the jobs back to the United States last year.
According to Jobs4america, call center agents account for 4% of the U.S. working population. This includes about 60,000 Americans who are estimated to be working for call centers from their homes.
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