Job loss in U.S. due to off-shoring is insignificant

The movement of technology jobs overseas is a growing practice but appears to have a minor impact on the overall U.S. economy, according to a new government study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

The report's main findings include:

The relocation of jobs overseas accounted for 13,000 or 0.9 percent of the 1.5 million layoffs reported in 2003.

U.S. imports of business, professional, and technical services grew from $21.2 billion in 1997 to $37.5 billion in 2002, an increase of about 77 percent.

Imports of computer and data processing services from India have risen from $8 million in 1997 to $76 million in 2002; India currently ranks as the 8th largest exporter to the United States in this sector.

While the negative impacts of off-shoring appear small, the report says the benefits to the U.S. economy, such as reduced business costs and increasing domestic employment in other occupations, needs further examination.

Source: International Trade: Current Government Data Provide Limited Insight into Off shoring of Services, United States Government Accountability Office, September 2004; and Jim Puzzanghera, Study: Off shoring Is on the Rise but Has Little Effect on Economy, South Mississippi Sun Herald, September 22, 2004.

For GAO text http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04932.pdf

For Sun Herald text http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/politics/9734116.htm

For more on Tradehttp://www.ncpa.org/iss/int/

FMF Policy Bulletin/ 16 November 2004

Publish date: 25 November 2004
Views: 432

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The views expressed in the article are the author’s and are not necessarily shared by the members of the Foundation. This article may be republished without prior consent but with acknowledgement to the author.

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