I recieved an email (several in fact) from a person all hot and bothered about the investment possibilities of outsourcing:
“This is a potential huge money maker! I’m going to invest in all these companies that are outsourcing, and make a mint!”
I don’t know how savvy an investment strategy that might be, as we are already deep into the outsourcing process. The low hanging fruit have already been picked. The same is probably true for the outsourcing firms themselves (although that is less conclusive).
But the questioner got me thinking about this issue from a research perspective. How can one find the companies — by region or industry — and quantify who is outsourcing? There are clear economic and political consequences of this issue.
In delving deeper into this, I discovered Job Tracker. The site claims to be able to able to track what companies are sending jobs overseas by ZIP code, industry or company.
It seems to be a pretty helpful tool — for politics, as well as financial research — if it works as advertised.
Heres their spiel:
Corporations increasingly are shipping U.S. jobs overseas, with America’s middle-class hardest hit. Since January 2001, the nation has lost 2.7 million manufacturing jobs, and some studies say 14 million white-collar jobs could be sent overseas in the years ahead.
Unfair trade deals and large tax breaks often encourage corporations to export jobs overseas.
I’d like to ask for some feedback on this: Is it helpful, complete, accurate. I’m curious as to how well this works.
Also of interest: Has organized labor actually gotten web savvy? That’s a big story in itself. I cannot recall ever seeing a significant usage of the internet by the AFL-CIO in this manner. Outsourcing is exactly the sort of bread and butter issue that would lend itself well to an internet based advocacy.
Let’s see how long it takes to get from my superficial observation and analysis to mainstream media discussion.
Sources:
Job Tracker
http://www.workingamerica.org/jobtracker/index.cfm
US website tracks job exporters
Indo-Asian News Service, September 18
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/5967_1012436,001600060001.htm
Tracking Job Exporters
I recieved an email (several in fact) from a person all hot and bothered about the investment possibilities of outsourcing: “Outsourcing is a potential huge money maker! I’m going to invest in all these companies that are outsourcing, and make…
When the AFL/CIO or other labor organizations put together the websites, wonder if they will use programmers in India to code it for them.
It’s like the Bush re-election committee sending out flyers asking for donations, adorned with american flags, and the 1-800 numbers is to call center in Bangalore.
Barry,
I’m more interested in the number of firms that have decided after outsourcing jobs overseas that it hasn’t paid off. My current employer is one these. I know that a local large insurance firm recently announced that an overseas contract for sales support was being cancelled and the jobs related to that work being brought back to the area. Is this a trend or just a natural adjustment as we reach maturity in the outsourcing trend?
Yes, labor is getting more web savvy.
See the SEIU’s web blog which is modeled
on Howard Dean’s blogs.
http://www.fightforthefuture.org/
Education “could” help replace jobs lost to Outsourcing?
Education COULD help in replacing jobs of all levels lost to outsourcing/offshoring. But only if the programs are funded fully. A recently released memo outlines the federal budget’s cut in domestic spending for the next few years. The proposed federal