Outsourcing Booms
The number of calls made in the United States that are replied in Costa Rica increases every day.  U.S. firms with worldwide operations resort to outsourcing here, in order to handle customer service and technical help.

This way, international corporations lower their operation costs while more and more Costa Ricans find well-paid jobs in a market that is booming here because of several features the country has, such as its geographical location, skilled labor, and overall culture.

In 1998, according to the Costa Rican Coalition for Development Initiatives (CINDE in Spanish), two call centers - with 200 employees - were operating here. Now 39 local and foreign firms provide 8,000 jobs in the ever-expanding sector.

According to Monica Castillo, from CINDE's Service Support Area, the sector will open 6,000 new jobs this year, in areas such as software, data processing, medical care, and customer service.