Final answer:
The first wave of non-manufacturing outsourcing in the United States primarily affected call centers. American and other international companies outsourced these functions to countries such as the Philippines and India to cut costs and leverage the local educated, English-speaking workforce. This trend was driven by globalization and the high cost of wages in developed countries.
Step-by-step explanation:
For the United States, the first wave of non-manufacturing outsourcing primarily affected call centers. This early trend in outsourcing saw corporate giants from various sectors choosing to transfer customer service and back-office functions to other countries where labor was significantly cheaper.
The Philippines became a key destination for these activities due to its large population of educated, English-speaking young adults, and the economic appeal for companies was considerable, as wages there were a fraction of those in the US.
Large American corporations like America Online and Citibank, along with companies from other countries, moved operations such as call centers to the Philippines. Similarly, India experienced a rise in outsourcing as it turned into a global back office for customer services and information technology related jobs. The impact in the US was significant, with a shift in the demand for labor from manufacturing to services, and many clerical and support positions being outsourced to countries like India and the Philippines.
This outsourcing trend was a response to the high wage costs in developed nations and the globalization of trade, which was facilitated by agreements like NAFTA.
As corporations optimized operations to cut costs and remain globally competitive, jobs within the United States shifted, leading to higher unemployment in certain sectors and requiring the workforce to adapt to the emerging service-oriented job market.