Jamaica’s business process outsourcing (BPO) sector has contracted significantly, with local spending falling by approximately US$220 million in the fiscal year ending March 2026.
The downturn was accompanied by the loss of roughly 5,000 jobs, marking a sharp reversal for an industry that has long been a pillar of the island’s service economy.
The contraction is attributed to a combination of global reshoring trends, the accelerating adoption of artificial intelligence, and increasing operational costs within Jamaica.
These structural headwinds are eroding the competitive advantage that Caribbean hubs have historically held in the global outsourcing market.
This development underscores a broader vulnerability in emerging-market service sectors reliant on low-cost labor arbitrage.
As AI technologies mature, the value proposition of offshore centers is being re-evaluated by multinational corporations, leading to a pullback in investment and headcount.