With the unemployment rate at a 10-year high, the growing job losses in the United States have become a cause for worry to India's IT bellwether, Infosys Technologies, impacting its onsite and offshore outsourcing operations.

"The current unemployment rate in the US is at a record high of 6.4 per cent. And in the California region (read the Bay area), the rate is estimated to be around 8 per cent.

"Such high job losses are bound to have an effect on the issue of L1 and HIB visas to our software personnel," Infosys CEO Nandan N Nilekani told the media in Bangalore on Thursday.

Though the impact of the Iraq war and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome fallout has been contained, the slide in the US economy continues to be challenging for technology spending.

The growing backlash against outsourcing IT services to Indian firms across the US is also weighing on the company's marketing strategy for client acquisition.

At the same time, Nilekani expressed confidence that the company's unique delivery model would be able to withstand the increasing competitive pressure from global majors such as Accenture, EDS and IBM, which are setting up their captive bases in India to outsource IT services at lower costs.

"There is an increased interest in offshore outsourcing as global corporations realize its benefits. Business opportunities continue to grow, though the pricing environment remains challenging.