An international recruiting firm says New Zealand's low wages and the cost of doing business here is bringing hundreds of call centre jobs to the country.
Hays says it has seeing high demand for salespeople and customer service representatives from overseas companies hoping to cut costs.
The firm says it has two clients which will set up in Wellington and Auckland in the next 12 months; one looking to hire 300 staff and the other 400.
It says another European firm is looking at a pilot project in New Plymouth, which may bring scores of positions if it is successful
The recruitment firm says the jobs will pay between $35,000 and $45,000 a year, on average. Wages in New Zealand are lower than in Australia, the workforce is less unionised and there is less red tape.
Hays says companies used to look to India to out-source call centre jobs, but that often turns out to be more difficult in the long run due to cultural differences.
