Business Facilities - May 2008 - (Page 42)

LOCATIONS FOR THE CALL CENTER INDUSTRY Where Call Centers Call Home While specific sectors of the call center industry fluctuate, the industry as a whole continues to boom throughout the United States. By Rae Kutz. Introduction courtesy of David L. Butler, Ph.D., Executive Director, National Association of Call Centers T he National Association of Call Centers tracks 11 call center industry sectors globally. Despite worries of an economic recession, 10 of the 11 sectors have shown consistent growth globally and within the United States. However, one sector, distribution/reservations, has been in a continuous decline on all continents, as these jobs shift to self-service applications. From January 1 through March 31 of 2008, 22 new call centers opened and 16 closed within the United States, in addition to nine expansions and four contractions. These movements within the call center industry created 7,097 new jobs and eliminated 3,068 jobs, producing a net gain of 4,029 new jobs. These jobs, however, were not spread evenly through the 11 sectors. Sectors worth watching are financial services/banking/insurance and telemarketing/collections. The U.S. financial services sector is feeling the pressure of bad loans on its books. It is possible that this may translate into more job cuts in the financial world, resulting in the closing or contracting of call center operations. Paralleling this economic trend, it is expected that more people will move into a situation in which they cannot pay their bills. This creates an opportunity for the telemarketing/collections sector to grow in an attempt to collect some part of this mounting debt. Call centers continue to open, close, expand, and contract in all regions of the United States. The anticipated shift of most call centers to the lower labor cost and low unionization areas of the South has not yet occurred. Here are two U.S. locations where call centers are flourishing. A S P E C I A L A D V E RT I S I N G S E C T I O N O F B U S I N E S S FA C I L I T I E S 42 PHOTO CREDIT: IMAGE 100 LTD.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Business Facilities - May 2008

Business Facilities - May 2008 Contents First Word Snapshots The UK's Most Lucrative Locations, Pound for Pound Economic Development in a Flash Corporate Moves: Massachusetts Florida: A Ripe Climate for Innovation Innovating Big in Rhode IIsland Retail Set to Ride Out a Recession Corporate Moves: New Jersey South Carolina: A Sweet Spot in the Southeast Endless Opportunities in North Carolina Economic Awakening in the Mohawk Valley Metro Spotlight: Alexandria, LA Where Call Centers Call Home Texas Receives First Business Facilities State of the Year Award Advertiser Index Inside Livexchange

Business Facilities - May 2008

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