Call Centre Growth and the Distribution of Financial Services Activity in the UK

Abstract

This article examines the growth and distribution of telephone call centres in the UK financial services sector. These are concentrated in the conurbations of Scotland and the north-west and in the south-east region, excluding Greater London. There is consideration of the extent to which the development of such centres is changing the spatial division of labour in financial services. The article also models the determinants of the spatial distribution of call centre activity. Though the results must be treated with some caution, it appears that labour supply, an original concentration of financial services employment, female earnings and the socio-economic composition of the labour force may be important determinants of the distribution of call centre activity.