Call Centers Have Their Place in Local Economies

Detailed statistics on call centers are difficult to come by because the job rarely receives its own statistical category. Call center workers for an airline, for example, might be categorized with other aviation jobs.

David Butler, president of the Call Center Research Laboratory at the University of Southern Mississippi and executive director of the National Association of Call Centers, estimates a call center work force of 7.5 million nationwide, while another study out of Cornell University estimates about 4 million.

Jobs in call centers are often perceived as low-paying, but the Cornell University study said workers average $13.50 an hour. A survey of 924 call center workers conducted in 2004-05 showed 366 of the people surveyed made less than $10 an hour and 364 made from $11 to $15, according to a report provided by Butler.

"They're not minimum-wage jobs," said Larry Waldman, a senior economist at the University of New Mexico's Bureau of Business and Economic Research. "They are a niche and they provide an excellent option for certain classes of people like students or people that can't have a full-time job."

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