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The Most In-Demand Employers of 2015

Published: Oct 16, 2015 3 min read
Google headquarters in Seattle
Google headquarters in Seattle
Michael Halberstadt—Alamy

Onsite massages, generous paid parental leave, and crazy-cool offices — it's little wonder why Google, Apple, and Facebook are North America's most sought-after employers this year, according to LinkedIn.

Unsurprisingly, the social networking site's annual list of North America's 2015 Top 100 InDemand Employers was chock-full of tech companies, with Google and Apple claiming the #1 and #2 spots, respectively, for the fourth year in a row. Facebook jumped from #5 to #3 this year, replacing Unilever, which experienced a dramatic descent to #25. Microsoft was ranked fourth, while Nike rounded out the top five. In all, tech companies comprised 29% of the top 100.

LinkedIn created the list by analyzing "billions of interactions from LinkedIn's 380M+ members" between August 2014 and 2015, including how many people follow a company's page, how much engagement a company's blog content receives, how often people viewed and applied for jobs at a company, and current and former employee profiles.

"Tech and media/entertainment are highly competitive industries when it comes to talent," said LinkedIn spokesperson Joe Roualdes. "Companies in those industries spend a lot of time and energy trying to strengthen their talent brands and make themselves more attractive to potential employees. And that's why they're so in-demand among our members."

Other technology giants on the list include #11 Amazon, #15 Netflix, #17 Twitter, #18 Yahoo, and #20 Adobe. Media and entertainment companies also made a strong showing on the list, comprising 17% or the top 100. The Walt Disney Company, ESPN, Fox, The New York Times, Warner Bros., HBO, Bloomberg LP, NBC Universal, and Forbes all rank in the top 50. Retail & Consumer companies (like Sephora and Whole Foods) made up 16% of the list, followed by Health & Pharma at 11%.

Interestingly, companies like Twitter, Netflix, and Dropbox (#83) rank highly despite employing relatively few people.

The Top 25 Most In-Demand Employers of 2015

  1. Google: 59k employees
  2. Apple: 104k employees
  3. Facebook:11k employees
  4. Microsoft: 117k employees
  5. Nike: 33k employees
  6. The Walt Disney Company: 28k employees
  7. Tesla Motors: 12k employees
  8. Proctor & Gamble: 71k employees
  9. Starbucks: 57k employees
  10. Shell: 86k employees
  11. Amazon: 66k employees
  12. McKinsey & Company: 22k employees
  13. GE: 60k employees
  14. Johnson & Johnson: 571k employees
  15. Netflix: 2k employees
  16. Bloomberg LP: 16k employees
  17. Twitter: 4k employees
  18. Yahoo: 12k employees
  19. Under Armour: 4k employees
  20. Adobe: 13k employees
  21. BP: 64k employees
  22. Salesforce: 16k employees
  23. ESPN: 9k employees
  24. Pfizer: 75k employees
  25. Unilever: 68k employees

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