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Data processing, typing and other forms of data input

Data processing, typing and other forms of data input, appear to be functions which require relatively low skill levels and are often carried out in fairly large volumes. It is often therefore more price-sensitive than other functions, as can be seen in the graph below which shows that the most important reason for choice of an outsourced or remote destination for data processing was ‘low cost/most competitive tender’, accounting for 22.5 per cent of all the reasons cited on the demand side (Huws, O’Regan, 2001).

It is therefore to be expected that locations selected for this function might well tend to be peripheral regions with relatively low labour costs, rather than those in Europe’s core economic heartlands. Indeed, the EMERGENCE surveys show that this function is most likely (though not exclusively so) to be located in regions where wages are somewhat below the EU average, including Attica, Lombardy, the Madrid region and the Czech Republic. In higher-wage countries, non-capital regions are more likely to be preferred for this activity, including Bayern and Baden-Wurttemberg in Germany, the Northeast of England and Mediterranean France.

Reasons for choice of location for data processing: supply and demand side

(Source: Huws and O’Regan, 2001)

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© 2002, Institute for Employment Studies