The numbers are startling: 3.3 million jobs in less than 15 years. That's the number of U.S. jobs expected to be lost overseas by 2015 according to a recent report by Forrester Research. But the sheer size of the exodus isn't what's worrying analysts the most — it's the type of jobs. Some critics are worried that this time it's the corporate main office is getting ready to shut down and head out of the country, packing up cubicles and all. As reported on NOW, a new wave of jobs are leaving U.S. shores: software development, customer service, accounting, back-office support, product development and other white collar endeavors.

And it's not just technology jobs that have ended up in India. According to Deloitte Consulting, 2 million jobs will move from the United States and Europe to cheaper locations in the financial services business alone. The exodus of service jobs across all industries could be as high as 4 million. It forecasts that three-quarters of leading financial institutions and investment banks will allocate tasks to Third World countries in the next five years and that India will be at the top of the list. Charles Schwab recently moved part of its information technology division to a contractor in Bangalore, India. AOL already has a large presence in India. American Express and British Airways have ramped up their employment in the country during the past year as well.

FRONTLINE WORLD reported last year that over half of Fortune 500 companies have moved jobs offshore, including famous names from many fields: Oracle, Dell, HSBC, Delta Air Lines, Novartis, J.P. Morgan Chase, Hewlett-Packard, American Express, British Airways. More are expected to follow. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, job separations due to overseas relocation are at their highest level since 1995.*

Projected Number of U.S. Jobs to Move Overseas

		Management: Number of jobs moving overseas by 2015:  288,281 Business: Number of jobs moving overseas by 2015:  348,028 Computer: Number of jobs moving overseas by 2015:  472,632 Architecture: Number of jobs moving overseas by 2015:  184,347 Life sciences: Number of jobs moving overseas by 2015:  36,770 Legal: Number of jobs moving overseas by 2015:  76,642 Art, design: Number of jobs moving overseas by 2015:  29,564 Sales: Number of jobs moving overseas by 2015:  226,564 Office: Number of jobs moving overseas by 2015:  1,659,310

Source: Forrester Research, Inc. November, 2002

U.S. workers are used to seeing manufacturing jobs lost to much lower wages, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the International Labour Organization, U.S. manufacturing average hourly compensation is $21.33, in Mexico: $2.38 and in China less than one dollar an hour. It should be noted that while salaries are much lower in India and other BPO hot spots, that does not mean that the companies are providing inadequate compensation — the cost of living is significantly lower in India. However, as both THE TIMES OF INDIA and THE ECONOMIST have recently noted, some jobs are in turn leaving India for even cheaper locales. And where are those jobs going? Some are heading to China, Russia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and the Czech Republic. In short, they are moving toward cheaper labor costs than those in India.

Salary Comparisons

		Software Programmer, United States:  $66,100 Software Programmer, India:  $10,000 Mechanical Engineer, United States:  $55,600 Mechanical Engineer, India:  $5,900 IT Manager, United States:  $55,000 IT Manager, India:  $8,500 Accountant, United States:  $41,000 Accountant, India:  $5,000 Financial Operations, United States:  $37,625 Financial Operations, India:  $5,500

Source: Paàras Group, 2002; International Labour Organization