The Hindu Business Line : `Tech job loss will be other industries' gain'

Mr Harris Miller, President, IT Association of America, tells how good it would be for the US: if IT jobs were offshored, jobs in other industries would gain by a total of 3,17,367 by 2008, compared to a net job addition of 90,264 in 2003.

The 2003 figures include a loss of about 24,860 IT jobs in 2003, while in 2008, about 50,000 IT jobs would be lost. Other industries that would gain jobs include construction, manufacturing, wholesale, retail and transportation. But, he warns, all these gains would result only if IT jobs are offshored.

The logic here is that if IT jobs went offshore, that would drive efficiency and cost control. These would make products meant for the US cheaper. That in turn would drive sales and create more jobs. The figures were part of a study that the ITAA had conducted. The study also said that if IT jobs continued to go offshore, the US would see a decrease of about 2 per cent in the consumer price index.Even given these gains, the rhetoric on job losses in the US to countries such as India continues on the political podium.

But, politicians can only influence the way Government agencies offshore work, right? Wrong, says Mr Miller, "The US Government can stop jobs going to countries such as India, if they perceive a threat to security and privacy of its citizens' data, even within the free market philosophy of the US." But what is Mr Miller's take on what could actually happen? "Restrictions on public sector may happen, but private sector restrictions are unlikely."

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