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Take This Job and Ship It: White-Collar Service Jobs Now Most Vulnerable to Offshoring

The chart below, which lists the top 100 jobs most likely to be offshored in the next 10-20 years, was taken from the paper "How Many U.S. Jobs Might Be Offshorable?" by Alan S. Blinder. This paper created a sensation when it was published March 2007 thanks to its estimates that 29% of U.S. jobs could be offshored, including high-paying service jobs. Blinder, a professor at Princeton who served on President Clinton's Council of Economic Advisors and on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, is a "free trader down to his toes," yet he took a hard look at the data and found that far more jobs are vulnerable to offshoring than anyone had ever imagined. Blinder developed an "Offshorability Index" (OI) which ranks jobs based on their potential for being offshored. We extracted the top 100 most vulnerable occupations and presented them in this summary table. Blinder used occupational categories from the Department of Labor's O*Net database - click the O*Net links below for detailed descriptions each occupation.

Additionally, the Economic Policy Institute has extended the Blinder analysis and mapped his results onto data regarding educational levels and geographic area. The resulting paper, "The Characteristics of Offshorable Jobs," released on November 14, 2007, makes another surprising point: the demographic most vulnerable to offshoring is those persons with at least a four-year college degree.

Occupation	Rank	O*Net Occupation Info
Computer Programmers	1	[link]
Data Entry Keyers	1	[link]
Electrical and Electronics Drafters	3	[link]
Mechanical Drafters	3	[link]
Computer and Information Scientists, Research	5	[link]
Actuaries	5	[link]
Mathematicians	5	[link]
Statisticians	5	[link]
Mathematical Science Occupations, All Other	9	[link]
Film and Video Editors	9	[link]
Medical Transcriptionists	9	[link]
Telemarketers	9	[link]
Telephone Operators	9	[link]
Proofreaders and Copy Markers	9	[link]
Numerical Tool and Process Control Programmers	9	[link]
Customer Service Representatives A	16	[link]
Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks	16	[link]
Word Processors and Typists	16	[link]
Office Clerks, General A	16	[link]
Office and Administrative Support Workers, All Other A	16	[link]
Computer Systems Analysts	21	[link]
Editors	21	[link]
Technical Writers	21	[link]
Interpreters and Translators	21	[link]
Desktop Publishers	21	[link]
Insurance Claims and Policy Processing Clerks	21	[link]
Computer Support Specialists A	27	[link]
Network Systems and Data Communications Analysts	27	[link]
Information and Record Clerks, All Other	27	[link]
Computer Specialists, All Other	30	[link]
Architectural and Civil Drafters	30	[link]
Drafters, All Other	30	[link]
Survey Researchers	30	[link]
Writers and Authors	30	[link]
Billing and Posting Clerks and Machine Operators	30	[link]
Statistical Assistants	30	[link]
Economists	37	[link]
Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators	37	[link]
Multi-Media Artists and Animators	39	[link]
Cartographers and Photogrammetrists	40	[link]
Graphic Designers	40	[link]
Travel Guides	40	[link]
Insurance Underwriters	43	[link]
Animal Scientists	43	[link]
Commercial and Industrial Designers	43	[link]
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks	46	[link]
Biochemists and Biophysicists	47	[link]
Microbiologists	47	[link]
Biological Scientists, All Other	47	[link]
Medical Records and Health Information Technicians	47	[link]
Operations Research Analysts	51	[link]
Atmospheric and Space Scientists	52	[link]
Credit Authorizers, Checkers, and Clerks	53	[link]
Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers	53	[link]
Food Scientists and Technologists	55	[link]
Mathematical Technicians	56	[link]
Designers, All Other	57	[link]
Correspondence Clerks	57	[link]
Financial Analysts	59	[link]
Financial Managers	60	[link]
Database Administrators	60	[link]
Receptionists and Information Clerks	60	[link]
Computer Operators	60	[link]
Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials	60	[link]
Sewing Machine Operators	60	[link]
Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers	60	[link]
Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders	60	[link]
Sewers, Hand	60	[link]
Textile Bleaching and Dyeing Machine Operators and Tenders	60	[link]
Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	60	[link]
Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	60	[link]
Textile Winding, Twisting, and Drawing Out Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	60	[link]
Textile, Apparel, and Furnishings Workers, All Other	60	[link]
Computer Software Engineers, Applications	74	[link]
Computer Software Engineers, Systems Software	74	[link]
Computer Hardware Engineers	76	[link]
Fashion Designers	76	[link]
Accountants and Auditors	78	[link]
Chemical Engineers	78	[link]
Engineers, All Other	78	[link]
Industrial Engineering Technicians	78	[link]
Mechanical Engineering Technicians	78	[link]
Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance	78	[link]
Biomedical Engineers	84	[link]
Materials Engineers	84	[link]
Electronics Engineers, Except Computer	86	[link]
Industrial Engineers	86	[link]
Mechanical Engineers	86	[link]
Customer Service Representatives B	86	[link]
Office Clerks, General B	86	[link]
Office and Administrative Support Workers, All Other B	86	[link]
Tool and Die Makers	86	[link]
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers	86	[link]
Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	86	[link]
Lay-Out Workers, Metal and Plastic	86	[link]
Plating and Coating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	86	[link]
Metal Workers and Plastic Workers, All Other	86	[link]
Semiconductor Processors	86	[link]
Helpers--Production Workers	86	[link]
Marine Engineers and Naval Architects	100	[link]
Secretaries, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive A	100	[link]
Cutters and Trimmers, Hand	100	[link]
Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic	100	[link]
Tire Builders	100	[link]

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