HR outsourcing in Asia-Pacific to reach $2.56 bn

Hewitt Associates estimates outsourcing of human resource functions in Asia-Pacific will grow 17.5% annually between 1999 and 2004 to reach $2.56 billion by the end of this year. The firm said the Asia-Pacific HR outsourcing market was $1.14 billion in 1999.

Outsourcing of payroll services accounts for the biggest component of the market and will reach $761.20 million in 2004, followed by education and training at $555.99 million and benefits administration at $535.65 million.

Hewitt Associates surveyed 524 companies in the region and found that 39% of their offices had already outsourced HR functions. The majority of companies said they intent to outsource more than two services over a period of time. Benefits administration was revealed to be the most preferred function to outsource, while training, medical claims processing, payroll and recruitment were also being considered.