Study finds global call centre employment is falling as hiring slows

In short: Call centre jobs are starting to decline in many countries, and the main reason so far is fewer new hires rather than more layoffs.

What's going on

A new study by economist Caelan Wilkie-Rogers at Revelio Labs tracked call centre employment across dozens of countries. It used company headcount data and workers’ online profiles to see how many people were in these roles over time.

The study found call centre employment is down about 5 percent globally from a peak in late 2023. The drop is not limited to rich countries. In the Philippines, employment in call centres is about 10 percent lower than when ChatGPT launched, and Kenya has seen a 6 percent fall over the past 18 months.

One detail matters for how this feels on the ground. The decline mostly comes from reduced hiring, not increased firing. Think of it like a bathtub where the drain is not getting bigger, but the faucet is turning down, so the water level slowly drops.

The Financial Times notes that call centre work has long been seen as vulnerable because many tasks are routine and scripted, which fits well with modern AI tools, including LLMs (large language models, which are text generating systems like ChatGPT). Outsourced roles may be especially exposed because employers can change providers more easily.

What to watch

Call centre work has been a key entry job in some lower and middle-income economies. The big question is whether other office jobs can become new “first steps” for young workers, or whether AI will reduce those openings too over time.

Source: Financial Times