Editing Economy of the Philippines (section)

=== Offshoring and outsourcing ===
{{Main| Business process outsourcing in the Philippines|Call center industry in the Philippines}}
[[File:Teletech call cent BACOLOD.jpg|thumb|A business process outsourcing office in [[Cainta, Rizal]]]]

[[Business process outsourcing]] (BPO) and the call center industry contribute to the Philippines' economic growth resulting in investment status upgrades from credit ratings agencies such as Fitch and S&P.<ref name="King del Rosario" /> In 2008, the Philippines has surpassed India as the world leader in [[business process outsourcing]] (BPO).<ref>IBM Global Business Services. (October 2008). [ftp://public.dhe.ibm.com/common/ssi/ecm/en/gbl03012usen/GBL03012USEN.PDF ''Global Location Trends – 2008 Annual Report'']{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>Balana, Cynthia D. and Lawrence de Guzman. (December 5, 2008). [http://www.inquirer.net/specialfeatures/thegoodnews/view.php?db=1&article=20101204-306912 It's official: Philippines bests India as No. 1 in BPO] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926163734/http://www.inquirer.net/specialfeatures/thegoodnews/view.php?db=1&article=20101204-306912 |date=September 26, 2012 }}. ''The Philippine Daily Inquirer''.</ref> The industry generated 100,000 jobs, and total revenues were placed at US$960 million for 2005. In 2011, BPO sector employment ballooned to over 700,000 people<ref>{{Cite news |last=Garcia |first=Cathy Rose A. |date=March 21, 2012 |title=BPO industry to generate 100,000 jobs this year: WB |url=https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/03/21/12/bpo-industry-generate-100000-jobs-year-wb |work=[[ABS-CBN News]]}}</ref> and is contributing to a growing [[middle class]]; this increased to around 1.3 million employees by 2022.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Arenas |first1=Guillermo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dFWYEAAAQBAJ |title=A New Dawn for Global Value Chain Participation in the Philippines |last2=Coulibaly |first2=Souleymane |date=November 14, 2022 |publisher=[[World Bank Publications]] |isbn=978-1-4648-1848-6 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=dFWYEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA28 28–29] |language=en |access-date=February 27, 2023}}</ref> BPO facilities are concentrated in [[IT park]]s and centers in [[List of special economic zones in the Philippines|economic zones]] across the Philippines:<ref>Philippine Economic Zone Authority.{{Cite web |title=Information Technology Parks/Centers |url=http://www.peza.gov.ph/index.php/2-uncategorised/41-information-technology-parks-centers/ |website=[[Philippine Economic Zone Authority]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803164356/http://www.peza.gov.ph/index.php/2-uncategorised/41-information-technology-parks-centers |archive-date=August 3, 2019 |access-date=July 4, 2019}}</ref> [[Metro Manila]], [[Metro Cebu]], [[Metro Clark]], [[Bacolod]], [[Davao City]], and [[Iloilo City]]; other areas with significant presence of the BPO industry include [[Baguio]], [[Cagayan de Oro]], [[Dasmariñas]], [[Dumaguete]], [[Lipa, Batangas|Lipa]], [[Naga, Camarines Sur|Naga]], and [[Santa Rosa, Laguna]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Bacolod still 'center of excellence' for IT-BPO |url=https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1862184/bacolod/local-news/bacolod-still-center-of-excellence-for-it-bpo |access-date=April 27, 2023 |work=[[SunStar]] |date=July 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808143206/https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1862184/bacolod/local-news/bacolod-still-center-of-excellence-for-it-bpo |archive-date=August 8, 2020 |language=en}}</ref> The majority of the top ten BPO firms of the United States operate in the Philippines.<ref>{{Cite news |title=foreign companies eye local BPO sector |url=http://business.inquirer.net/212892/100-foreign-companies-eye-local-bpo-sector |access-date=August 5, 2015 |newspaper=[[Philippine Daily Inquirer]]}}</ref>

[[Call centers]] began in the Philippines as plain providers of email response and managing services and is a major source of employment. Call center services include customer relations, ranging from travel services, technical support, education, customer care, financial services, online business to customer support, and online business-to-business support. The Philippines is considered as a location of choice due to its many outsourcing benefits such as less expensive operational and labor costs, the high proficiency in spoken [[English language|English]] of a significant number of its people, and a highly educated labor pool.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Friginal |first1=Eric |title=The Language of Outsourced Call Centers: A Corpus-based Study of Cross-cultural Interaction |date=2009 |publisher=[[John Benjamins Publishing]] |isbn=978-90-272-2308-1 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=fHpj-yvHVJsC&pg=PA17 17] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fHpj-yvHVJsC |access-date=April 13, 2023 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Snow |first1=Donald M. |last2=Haney |first2=Patrick J. |title=U.S. Foreign Policy: Back to the Water's Edge |date=August 2, 2017 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |isbn=978-1-4422-6818-0 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=WVksDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA262 262] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WVksDwAAQBAJ |access-date=April 13, 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

The growth in the BPO industry is promoted by the Philippine government. The industry is highlighted by the Philippines Development Plan as among the 10 high potential and priority development areas. The government provides incentive programs such as tax holidays, tax exemptions, and simplified export and import procedures. Additionally, training is also available for BPO applicants.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news |title=The Philippines – Poised for Growth Through BPO |url=http://trendline.dcrworkforce.com/the-philippines-poised-for-growth-through-bpo.html |date=April 1, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117021050/http://trendline.dcrworkforce.com/the-philippines-poised-for-growth-through-bpo.html |archive-date=November 17, 2015 |access-date=November 10, 2015 |website=DCR TrendLine }}</ref>