Jobs4America, a newly formed group that includes Sprint Nextel, XO Communications, the American Teleservices Association and third-party customer service providers such as Accent Marketing Services, Aegis Global and Novo 1, hopes to expand call center and customer service representative jobs that have been outsourced in recent years to lower-wage providers in India, the Philippines and Jamaica.
The effort has the backing of FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, who says expanding high-speed broadband Internet service to rural areas and homes will bolster job growth.
"We've been pushing broadband deployment and adoption so strongly because it's essential to job creation," says Genachowski. "We see broadband expansion creating new jobs, and on-shoring jobs that have moved overseas."Genachowski will be in Jeffersonville, Ind., today for the Jobs4America launch at locally based Accent, which is building a call center for 175 new employees.
Accent CEO Tim Searcy says he hopes to eventually add 2,000 employees.
Overall, 100,000 new jobs won't put much of a dent in the nation's unemployment rate, now at 9.2%. Most customer service sector jobs average $13 an hour.
Even so, for the unskilled, stay-at-home moms and transitory workers, the industry can provide a much needed lifeline.
The industry, which handles everything from 1-800 consumer complaint calls to Internet transactions, employs about 5.3 million U.S. workers. Annual turnover is high — about 33% — but observers say it's a growth industry.
"The typical worker is an in-betweener: a high school diploma plus some college. The pay is much better than a minimum-wage job, and the benefits can be pretty good," says David Butler, director of the University of Southern Mississippi's Call Center Research Laboratory.
Moreover, the Jobs4america initiative could have a big local impact. Aegis, for example, plans to hire 4,000. It's hiring in Port St. Lucie, Fla., where unemployment is 12.5%.
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