According to the latest outsourcing statistics, more and more companies globally are looking to outsource some of their essential and non-essential business functions to third-party companies to streamline workflows and save costs.
Today, outsourcing has become very important for many small businesses and large corporations.
If you want to find dependable and affordable employees, you don’t have to border yourself to the city, country, or region you live in, as you can find employees from anywhere in the world.
Remote work and outsourcing have become a global industry, and more and more companies are opting for outsourcing.
In this article, we will share 25+ eye-opening outsourcing statistics that will offer a behind-the-scenes look at the state of outsourcing in 2022, how it is recovering from the impact of the global pandemic, the top countries for outsourcing jobs, and much more.
Let’s jump into it!
Key Outsourcing Statistics
- More than 14 million jobs are outsourced from the United States each year.
- 37% of small businesses outsource at least one of their business processes.
- 59% of the companies in the U.S outsource to reduce their expenses.
- 54% of companies use third-party support teams to approach customers.
- There are more than 59 million freelance workers in the United States.
- 92% of G2000 companies use outsourcing to cut budgets.
- More than 80% of companies have no plan to outsource any sales or marketing jobs.
- The estimated value of the outsourcing market was $92.5 billion in 2019.
- The global spending on outsourcing could surpass $731 in2023.
- 10% of the Philippines’ GDP generates from outsourcing business processes.
- The outsourcing industry in China hires more than one million employees each year.
General Outsourcing Statistics
Here are 25+ Eye-opening Outsourcing Statistics:
1. Companies in the U.S outsource about 300,000 jobs each year
These offshore outsourcing statistics clearly show the scale of BPO. In 2015 alone, US foreign subsidiaries employed 14.3 million workers abroad.
If these outsourced jobs remained in the United States, it would have taken over the 5.9 million unemployed Americans, plus the 4.3 million people who work part-time and want to move to full-time work.
(Entrepreneur)
2. 59% of the companies outsource to cut their expenses
Cutting operational costs is one of the top reasons companies choose outsourcing.
According to the latest outsourcing statistics, more than half of the companies in the United States (59%) outsource to reduce the load on their budgets.
(Deloitte)
3. The two largest users of outsourcing in America are the government and defense sectors
Canada and United States, the two leading economies in the world, are outsourcing for their government and defense needs. These two districts contribute 81% to the value of outsourcing deals.
In Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMA), government, banking, and telecommunications are the industries using outsourcing, while in ASPAC (Asia Pacific), it is only telecommunications.
(KPMG)
4. IBM is the largest outsourcing company in the world
According to outsourcing jobs facts, IBM is the largest outsourcing company in the world, with 383,800 people working for this technology-based giant in New York.
The multinational company earns a revenue of $76.5 billion and a market cap of $105.66 billion.
(Insider Monkey)
5. 36% of the U.S workers are a part of the gig economy
The gig economy is made of freelancers and part-time remote employees who work on short projects for money.
Gig economy statistics show that more than a third of American workers are a part of the gig economy.
The highest-paid gig economy job was message therapy in 2021, with an hourly wage of $27.84.
(Gallup)
6. 92% of the G2000 companies use IT outsourcing
Many recent studies show that over 90% of the G2000 companies have held ongoing ITO contracts in the last five years. In 2019, 9 in 10 leading G2000 companies had IT outsourcing contracts.
(ISG)
7. 90% of the companies feel that the cloud is the primary enabler in outsourcing
Since the pandemic started, more and more companies are realizing the benefits of cloud computing and striving to become the first ones to adopt the “cloud-first model.”
In 2020, more than half of the IT spending (60%) was cloud-based, and this figure is expected to increase by 90% in 2022.
(Deloitte)
8. 37% of small businesses outsource at least some of their business development
According to a 2019 survey by Clutch, more than 30% of small businesses use outsourcing. 52% of outsourcing survey respondents plan to outsource their business processes soon.
These small business outsourcing statistics are taken from the responses from 529 market participants.
9. Cost reduction is the number reason for outsourcing
The global outsourcing survey by Deloitte (2020) revealed that cost reduction is the top reason why most companies opt for outsourcing.
Outsourcing help lower the expenses associated with hiring new staff and provide greater flexibility and quality in the business.
(Deloitte)
Also Read: 23+ Surprising Home Invasion Statistics
10. 65% of companies that have outsourced in the past plan to outsource more
Outsourcing statistics reveal that 35% of companies, especially in the manufacturing and IT industries, feel positive about their experience and planning to increase their outsourcing efforts to innovate, cut costs, serve customers better, and run a successful business model.
(Computer Economics)
11. 80% of companies are still not interested in outsourcing any marketing or sales jobs
Research shows that 30% of professionals don’t believe in outsourcing jobs due to fear of losing a job.
Similarly, 80% of the companies say they would never outsource any marketing or strategic planning jobs to external providers as it is a highly confidential and internal matter to be done by outside workers.
(Credit Donkey)
12. By the end of 2021, 70% of the market value of the IT industry will come from outsourcing
The IT industry is estimated to be worth $413 billion by the end of this year. And guess what? 70% of the amount mentioned is due to outsourcing.
Technology is constantly developing, and businesses must ensure that they follow trends.
More than 94% of companies using IT outsourcing see reasonable improvements from using cloud services.
(Orient)
13. Automation is threatening over 1 million outsourced jobs in America
All previous job outsourcing statistics are likely to be less shocking after reading this one.
As per the latest statistics, more than one million jobs in America are in danger due to increasing automation in every field.
This development will affect certain people harder than others, including low-skilled workers. Philippines, America, India, and Poland could lose more than a million jobs in the next five years.
14. The global HR outsourcing market is estimated to grow by 10.90 bn from 2021 to 2026
The digitalization of human resource outsourcing is a major driver of market growth.
Since 2018, the outsourcing market has grown steadily at a compound annual growth rate of 8.69%, and this trend will continue in 2022.
Despite the previous statistic, the global HR outsourcing market is projected to grow by USD 10.90 bn from 2022 to 2026.
15. The global outsourcing market worth was $92.5 billion in 2019
Looking at the previous outsourcing statistics, we can say that in the last decade, the outsourcing market hit its lowest in 2016, when its market worth was $76.2 billion, and its highest in 2014, with a market worth of $104.6 billion.
America holds the largest share in the outsourcing industry, followed by Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific.
(Statista)
16. After the Great Recession, only 9% of companies decided to shut their outsourcing efforts
After the Great Recession, 9% of the companies closed their outsourcing efforts, while more than half of the companies (57%) decided to grow their use of outsourcing.
The outsourcing statistics reveal that the remaining 34% of these companies have only restructured their existing arrangements and continue to rely on them.
This means that 91% of all businesses continued to use this business model after the recession.
(Brandon Gaille)
17. 40% of the help desk workers in banking are outsourced
These days, banks outsource many of their jobs which do not require employees to be in the office to do their job properly.
The latest outsourcing statistics reveal that 40% of the help desk jobs in the banking industry are outsourced to save money and improve productivity and efficiency.
Additionally, a chart of outsourcing statistics shows that more than a third of his payroll duties are outsourced for the same reason.
18. 60% of organizations outsource app development
These days more than half of the IT organizations outsource app development.
App developers charge a crazy amount of money, which is why companies turn to outsourcing to cut costs, reduce the time to market, and improve quality.
In the financial sector, 72% of companies outsource app development, followed by healthcare with 31%.
(Computer Economics)
19. Outsourcing will lead to more and higher quality jobs in the future
Automation is one of the biggest trends in the world right now, resulting in the loss of 1 in 4 jobs, but there are also areas where outsourcing is a much better option.
Given the increasing quality of the outsourced workforce, it is expected that more high-value jobs will be outsourced in the future.
(ATKearney)
20. 71% of Americans think outsourcing is detrimental to the U.S economy
Organizations around the world are reaping the benefits of outsourcing, but most Americans agree that outsourcing is hurting the economy.
71% of Americans believe outsourcing has a negative impact, and 62% want the government to ban outsourcing altogether.
21. 29% of US companies with less than 50 employees outsource
Outsourcing in the US is less common for companies with less than 50 employees. Only 29% of them outsource.
Meanwhile, companies with more than 50 employees are willing to outsource some of their work. According to outsourcing statistics, 66% of employees do.
22. India is the top outsourcing destination
Being extremely cheap in comparison to the other developed countries, it is not surprising that most outsourcing statistics confirm that India is one of the top countries for outsourcing, followed by the Philippines, Ukraine, Poland, Mexico, and Brazil.
If you have a software-related job, India is the best option, but if the job needs highly developed skills and close cooperation, it’s better to look somewhere else.
(AT Kearney)
23. 10% of the Philippines’ economy relies on outsourcing
Although most of the outsourcing statistics show that India is leading the outsourcing industry.
However, the latest stats show that the Philippines is also one of the fastest-growing gig economies and desirable outsourcing countries in the world.
According to estimates outsourcing accounts for 10% of the Philippines’ economy.
24. China’s Service Outsourcing Industry is worth over $175 billion
The service outsourcing industry in China has been growing steadily since 2016, with more than one million new hires joining the industry every year.
In 2020, the industry’s market value was around $175 billion, 60% higher than in 2016.
25. 83% of IT Professionals are planning to outsource their security efforts
Although 91% of IT professionals have their in-house security teams, due to the continuously increasing number of cyberattacks, shortage of staff, and budget cuts, 83% of the experts are considering outsourcing their security efforts to work more effectively.
Also Read: How Much You Need To Be Rich In 50 Major US Cities?
26. 58.8% of U.S marketers believe that the pandemic did not affect the outsourcing industry
COVID-19 outbreaks affect every field, and outsourcing is no exception.
More than 80% of companies switched to remote work and collaborated with outsourcing companies for many important functions of the companies.
However, 58.8% of the marketers say that they see no significant pandemic-related changes in the outsourcing marketing activities and how freelancers are operating, compared to 19.4who observed a change in the market.
(Statista)
27. By 2026, the outsourcing market will be worth $425.19 billion
Ever since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for IT outsourcing has intensified, and many companies are choosing to outsource IT services to remain relevant.
According to outsourcing market statistics, the global IT outsourcing market was valued at $318.5 billion in 2020, and it is expected that it will register a CAGR of 4.5% between 2021 to 2026.
(Statista)
Shefali Jain is a Content Editor & Writer at National Planning Cycles.
After completing her graduation in hospitality, Shefali decided to follow her passion and started writing. Shefali has been writing for two years now and contributes to our website as a skilled editor and content writer with strong research skills. Writing product and service reviews, biographies, and book reviews are some of her key areas, among many others in which she specializes.