Report Looks at Tech Job Losses

One in 10 jobs in the U.S. computer services and software industry could shift to lower-cost emerging markets such as India by the end of 2004, a top computer consulting firm said.

Gartner Inc., the world’s biggest technology forecasting firm, warned in a new report Monday that managers may face a shortage of computer expertise unless they adapt to what is emerging as one of corporate America’s hottest employment trends.

Although professionals in the computer industry itself are likely to bear the brunt of the shift of jobs overseas, the report predicts that one in 20 tech jobs in the wider corporate world could be affected.

“Offshore outsourcing” is how the computer industry describes the transformation of software development, computer services and customer call-center work.

Amid a global economic downturn, U.S. companies have embraced a decade-old trend of hiring workers abroad who can be employed for one-tenth the cost of U.S.-based professionals, the report said.