The Bright Side of Outsourcing

Filed in archive Outsourcing Pros and Cons on March 15, 2004

Outsourcing might have caused some stir in the economy and created an on-going debate among policy makers, analysts and corporations. Regardless of the cliche that it has many unfavorable consequences to the recent unpromising employment outlook, outsourcing might not be as threatening as one might have thought.

There are at least two perspectives from which the bright side can be seen:

1. Outsourcing might not be the cause of major unemployment in the United States.

Quoted from USA Today editorial, "Many economists estimate that only about 1 in 100 layoffs are caused by outsourcing. By contrast, the bulk of job losses stem from domestic factors."

2. The United States is far greater an outsourcing supplier than any other countries.

Quoted from National Center for Policy Analysis, "Services provided by jobs outsourced from the United States to developing nations are counted as imports, whereas services performed by Americans for foreign firms are counted as exports."