Global Contact Center Market Activity | September 2026

Site Selection Group (SSG) tracks global contact center expansions, new openings, consolidations, and downsizing activity through ongoing market research across onshore, nearshore, and offshore locations. Our monthly data is designed to help contact center leaders better understand where the industry is growing, shifting, and recalibrating worldwide.

Global contact center hiring activity slowed sharply in August 2026, with 2,500 announced jobs across 6 new sites and expansions — the smallest monthly total of the year so far — partially offset by 363 jobs tied to two downsizing operations. Real estate firm JLL landed the month's largest single announcement with a 1,600-job new site in Hyderabad, while Delivery Hero opened a 500-job new site in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The U.S. saw a rare public-sector entrant, as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed a new site in Nashville, Tennessee.

Through the first eight months of 2026, SSG has tracked more than 46,553 announced jobs across 90 expansions and new sites globally — with 20 closures or downsizings accounting for 7,134 displaced positions. 

August 2026 Snapshot

New Sites & Expansion Announcements

Closure & Downsizing Announcements

Regional Highlights

India Delivers the Month's Largest Deal

JLL's 1,600-job new site in Hyderabad was the single largest announcement of August, extending India's run as the anchor market for large-scale, enterprise-driven site commitments. Hyderabad continues to draw sizable back-office and support operations on the strength of its deep talent pool and established delivery infrastructure.

Southeast Asia and the Philippines Add New Sites

Delivery Hero opened a 500-job new site in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, while XP Plus Solutions added a new site in Cebu, Philippines. Both moves reflect continued diversification of delivery capacity across Southeast Asia even as overall monthly volumes cooled.

Caribbean and Central America: ibex Expands in Honduras

ibex expanded its Tegucigalpa, Honduras operation by 400 jobs, reinforcing Honduras's growing role as a nearshore delivery point for U.S.-facing BPO work.

Africa: Kenya Adds a New Entrant

Gevekom's new site in Nairobi marks a fresh entrant into the Kenyan market, broadening Africa's delivery footprint beyond the Egypt- and South Africa-led activity that has driven the region's growth for most of 2026.

U.S. Market: A Public-Sector Entrant Alongside Continued Downsizing

The U.S. market's lone new-site announcement in August came from outside the traditional BPO and financial services base: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed a new site in Nashville, Tennessee. On the downsizing side, T-Mobile reduced 113 positions in Irving, Texas, and SCR Medical Transportation closed a 250-job operation in Chicago, Illinois — continuing the pattern of telecom and healthcare-adjacent downsizing seen at points throughout 2026.

What It Means for Contact Center Leaders

August activity shows that companies continue to prioritize locations offering:

• Scalable labor pools
• Competitive wage structures
• Multilingual talent
• Proven outsourcing ecosystems
• Operational flexibility
• AI-enabled workforce models

At the same time, August's slower pace — the lowest monthly total of 2026 so far — combined with continued U.S. telecom and healthcare downsizing, suggests some markets may be entering a more selective, consolidation-focused phase heading into the fall.

Conclusion

Site Selection Group tracks global contact center openings, expansions, consolidations, and labor market shifts each month to help companies understand where the industry is growing, evolving, and becoming more competitive. Our research spans onshore, nearshore, and offshore markets to provide timely insight into location trends shaping the contact center industry.

If your organization is evaluating contact center location strategy, outsourcing opportunities, labor market conditions, or portfolio optimization, our team is available to help you make informed decisions. SSG operates exclusively on behalf of corporate clients — we never represent landlords or outsourcing providers — so our advisory is always conflict-free.

About Site Selection Group

Site Selection Group is a full-service location advisory, economic incentive, and corporate real estate firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas. SSG specializes in the contact center industry and works exclusively with companies operating contact centers on location strategy, outsourcing advisory, and contact center technology evaluation. Learn more at siteselectiongroup.com.