Gov't Statistics Contradict Inflated Telemarketing Claims
At various times, representatives of the telemarketing industry have claimed that telemarketing is responsible for over $600 billion in annual sales and five million jobs. However, these statistics are clearly inflated. First, the industry groups numbers are generated from closed studies, and the public cannot view the raw data from which the conclusions are drawn. The telemarketing studies cannot be subjected to meaningful peer review because they are drafted in secrecy. Second, if in fact $600 billion in annual sales were made with telemarketing, that would mean that the average US household buys $6,000 of goods and services from telemarketers each year.
Furthermore, the 1997 US Economic Census shows that telemarketing only contributes $20 billion to the economy and just over 500,000 jobs.
1997 Economic Census: NAICS 561422 Telemarketing bureaus, US Census.
