Telephone Operators

Employment of telephone operators is expected to decline by 26 percent from 2023 through 2033, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. During the past 35 years, employment of operators in telephone companies has declined sharply due to automation, which increases the productivity of these workers. Job opportunities for switchboard operators are expected to decline by 25 percent through 2033.

Direct dialing and computerized billing have eliminated the need for many operators. Voice-recognition technology, which gives computers the capacity to understand speech and to respond to callers, now offers directory assistance and helps to place collect calls. Voice response equipment, which allows callers to communicate with computers through the use of touch-tone signals, is used widely by most large companies. Using a combination of voice response equipment, voice mail and messaging systems, and automated call distribution, incoming phone calls can be routed to their destination without the use of an operator. People now use the Internet and e-mail to communicate, neither of which require operators. Directory assistance services are also available on the Internet and provide phone numbers, addresses, maps, and e-mail addresses.

Going forward, operators will find most job opportunities outside the phone companies, with customer service departments, telemarketing firms, reservation ticket agencies, hotel switchboards, and other services that field a number of calls. TDD, phone services for the deaf, also requires operators, and the Americans with Disabilities Act is allowing people better access to such services. Unions have tried to make sure that companies reduce unemployment either through attrition or through retraining and reassigning workers. Many telephone companies, however, continue to make workforce reductions by eliminating telephone operator positions or by sending jobs to foreign countries in an attempt to cut operating costs. There will be limited opportunities for employment as a telephone operator in the future.