The consulting firm McKinsey conducts periodically a global survey of business executives. Last published was conducted in September 2007, and here are some key findings. Only 18% of respondents say that they expect their workforce to decrease. And 42% expect it to increase! But the majority expects that that increase will be mostly in their headquarters’ countries, except those companies from Europe. From those who expect their workforce to decrease, asked about the causes of that decrease, say that it is: 1. Outsourcing (33%), in the same (18%) or different country (15%) 2. Technological improvements that permit to do the same with less people (33%) 3. Changes in the business model, abandoning some product lines or services (22%)

I don’t know what my readers think, but I believe that those are very curious conclusions that illustrate how the economic world is evolving now. Not always in the way the common opinion is saying. In this sense, I want to point out at least two things: 1. Companies are still growing. 2. Job destruction is not based mainly in offshoring processes, but in the old thing of productivity improvement and product and business models obsolescence.