Many of the calls to customer service that were handled overseas a few years ago soon could be answered in Indiana.
The state’s economic development leaders have been touting 2007 as a banner year that brought commitments for more than 22,000 new jobs, including positions in manufacturing, logistics and life sciences.
But almost 20 percent of the announced jobs would be in call centers, answering phones, providing customer service and selling products — jobs that typically pay near or below the state’s $35,000 average annual wage. Eight of the 13 largest job deals last year are connected to the call-center industry.
Among the deals: Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Services plans to open a 500-employee call center in Anderson; Orlando, Fla.-based Connextions will hire 1,134 Hoosiers to help at a new health-care-related call center in Jeffersonville; AT&T Mobility pledged to hire 600 employees for a new call center in Evansville; and Indianapolis-based Defender Security Co. said it sell ADT security systems and Dish Network subscriptions from call centers across the state.
If you add in the state’s final job-creation deal of 2006 — an 850-employee IBM call center planned for Daleville — about 5,000 new call center jobs are on the horizon.
The trend disturbs some economists, but economic development leaders insist the jobs are needed and worthwhile. Call-center positions are not on the state’s target list, but they often are appropriate for entry-level employees or as a second job, said Nathan Feltman, Indiana’s secretary of commerce.
“Certainly, when there are opportunities out there in the call-center sector, and especially ones that are higher-paying, we look for areas around the state where those jobs would be coveted,” Feltman said. “We don’t want to be in the position of turning away opportunities when many communities in our state would love those opportunities.”
Call-center jobs require minimal investment and can provide…