MANILA, Philippines -- Companies in the United States will outsource no less than 60,000 jobs to the country in about two years, according to the Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA).

PSIA recently conducted a roadshow in the US, meeting with industry groups in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York and New Jersey.

In New York, the PSIA delegation attended the World BPO Forum conference along with Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) chairman Ray Roxas-Chua III, who made a presentation on the local business process outsourcing or BPO industry.

"According to World BPO Forum's projections, an estimated 60,000 positions will be sent to the Philippines as part of companies' global sourcing strategy," said PSIA president Beng Coronel.

The Philippines is now the third largest BPO destination behind India and Canada, according to a study presented during the conference by analyst firm Everest Global, which was cited by Coronel during a recent PSIA briefing.

Based on the study, the Philippines accounts for around 15 percent of the total global BPO market, while India is on top with nearly 40 percent of the market.

BPO is an umbrella term for IT-enabled services such as contact centers, software development, engineering design, animation and medical transcription.

Based on industry estimates, call centers still pump in more than 70 percent of total revenues, estimated at nearly $5 billion. Industry group Business Process Association of the Philippine (B/PAP) has set a target of $12 billion to $13 billion by 2010.