More unemployed call center workers, says report

After adding more than 90,000 jobs across Canada from 1997 to 2007, the business support services sector (ie. call centers - RY) saw its employment decline by 28 per cent from 2007 to 2011. Nearly 33,000 jobs have disappeared since 2007. The losses have hit particularly hard in New Brunswick and Ontario. In New Brunswick, the industry lost more than 3,100 jobs between 2007 and 2011. Ontario’s sector took an even larger hit, shedding almost 26,000 jobs since 2007 or a 40 per cent decline. ...employment decline in the business support services sector on a percentage basis has been much steeper than in manufacturing. ... There will be far fewer jobs associated with customer interaction in the future... (because) people are increasingly using the Web and bypassing the need to talk directly to a customer service agent by the telephone.


Source: Globe and Mail, March 8, Why call centres no longer ring up big job gains