Call center sector revenues hit $10B

Revenues of call centers in the country hit a record $10 billion in 2013 amid sustained strong demand to serve traditional, English-speaking markets such as the United States.

Official data from the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) showed that revenues last year exceeded the $9.9-billion target and were about 18-percent higher than the $8.6 billion generated in 2012.

At end-2013, full-time employment in contact centers reached 586,000, up from 502,000 in 2012.

According to CCAP, the sector’s revenues and employment were both poised to grow 14-15 percent this year as well as in 2015.

The contact center sector accounts for up to 70 percent of the entire information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) industry in the Philippines.

“The US is still the dominant market, but the UK, Australia and New Zealand are emerging markets,” CCAP said.

The Philippines has dislodged India as the world’s largest call center hub on the back of an influx of call center companies increasingly tapping the English-speaking Filipino workforce.

Due to robust growth, CCAP last year revised upwards the contact center sector’s revenue projections until 2016 as follows: $11.4 billion (from $11.1 billion) for 2014, $13.1 billion (from $12.8 billion) for 2015 and $15 billion (from $14.7 billion) for 2016.