Final answer:
Offshore outsourcing in manufacturing was initially used to find cheap labor to reduce costs and increase profits. It expanded to outsource white-collar jobs as well and had significant impacts on job markets in developed countries. This practice is driven by globalization and consumer demand for lower prices.
Step-by-step explanation:
Initially, offshore outsourcing was predominantly used in manufacturing to find cheap labor. Companies sought locations with low costs of living, where workers would accept lower wages for mostly low-skill labor, in order to reduce production costs and increase profits. This was due in part to globalization and trade agreements like NAFTA, which facilitated the movement of operations to countries where labor was more affordable.
Over time, however, the practice expanded beyond manufacturing as companies began outsourcing white-collar jobs, such as customer service, technical support, and computer programming to countries with a large number of educated, often English-speaking individuals, such as India. This shift has had a profound impact on the job market in developed countries, reducing the number of available high-paying jobs and contributing to unemployment.
While consumers benefit from lower prices on goods and services as a result of outsourcing, it comes at the cost of job losses within the countries initiating the outsourcing. Such market dynamics reflect the ongoing tensions between consumer demands for affordability and the economic well-being of workers in developed nations.