Off-Shoring – Friend or Foe?

As a recruiter, I have been coming across one term more and more frequently in the searches I am working on – “Off-Shoring.” Many candidates are weary of becoming part of an organization that sends American jobs overseas to countries like India and China. What they don’t think about is why these companies are doing it or how off-shoring could possibly benefit them in the long run.

Economically, off-shoring is the chosen route of many businesses to reduce costs by relocating many of their business processes overseas. Individual countries now have an industry that they are known for – India for telecommunications and IT, and China for production and manufacturing. These countries have an ample supply of well-trained qualified workers at the ready, many of whom are college educated. Most are eager to work for an American company and in turn are more productive and proactive in their roles. Sending these positions overseas frees up U.S. talent to focus on innovation and enables these companies to hire top candidates where they are most needed.

Fearing the loss of American jobs fuels most of the argument against off-shoring, despite the fact that a strong economy has created about one million jobs here in the past three months. Currently, only about one to two million jobs are off shored, compared to a workforce of 140 million Americans. Sending these positions overseas will enable foreign companies to rely less on exporting goods to the U.S. and more on generating their own internal growth, thus keeping those positions here in America. Unemployment will continue to stay low as workers who have lost their positions move into different roles where they are needed. Losses will be offset by growth in other occupations as well.