Macro Dashboard
Public Company Employment
How many people do the biggest public companies actually employ, and how has that changed? Annual headcount from SEC filings, grouped by sector. All figures are full-time equivalents as reported in 10-K filings.
Technology
The Tech Hiring Cycle
The pandemic triggered the largest hiring spree in tech history. Remote work, digital acceleration, and zero interest rates sent headcount soaring from 2020 to 2022. Then came the correction — Meta's "year of efficiency," Alphabet's 12,000-person cut, and Tesla's restructuring reversed years of growth in a single quarter. The industry is now in a slower-growth regime, with AI investment replacing headcount expansion.
Net headcount change by company
Year-over-year change — who hired and who fired
Source: FMP (10-K filings) · Amazon excluded (appears in Retail below) · Click categories to filter
Full History
15 years of tech employment
Total headcount by company
Annual headcount as reported in SEC filings
Source: FMP (10-K filings) · Amazon excluded · Click categories to filter
Data Table
Annual figures
| Year | Microsoft | Alphabet | Apple | Tesla | Meta | NVIDIA | Adobe | AMD | PayPal | Netflix | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 89K | — | 47K | 0K | — | 6K | 9K | 11K | — | 2K | 164K |
| 2011 | 90K | — | 60K | 1K | — | 6K | 10K | 11K | — | 2K | 181K |
| 2012 | 94K | — | 73K | 3K | 5K | 7K | 11K | 10K | — | 2K | 205K |
| 2013 | 99K | — | 80K | 6K | 6K | 8K | 12K | 11K | — | 2K | 224K |
| 2014 | 128K | — | 93K | 10K | 9K | 9K | 12K | 10K | — | 2K | 273K |
| 2015 | 118K | 62K | 110K | 13K | 13K | 9K | 14K | 9K | 17K | 4K | 368K |
| 2016 | 114K | 72K | 116K | 18K | 17K | 9K | 16K | 8K | 18K | 5K | 393K |
| 2017 | 124K | 80K | 123K | 38K | 25K | 10K | 18K | 9K | 19K | 6K | 451K |
| 2018 | 131K | 99K | 132K | 49K | 36K | 12K | 21K | 10K | 22K | 7K | 518K |
| 2019 | 144K | 119K | 137K | 48K | 45K | 13K | 23K | 11K | 23K | 9K | 572K |
| 2020 | 163K | 135K | 147K | 71K | 59K | 14K | 23K | 13K | 27K | 9K | 659K |
| 2021 | 181K | 157K | 154K | 99K | 72K | 19K | 26K | 16K | 31K | 11K | 765K |
| 2022 | 221K | 190K | 164K | 128K | 86K | 22K | 29K | 25K | 30K | 13K | 909K |
| 2023 | 221K | 183K | 161K | 140K | 67K | 26K | 30K | 26K | 27K | 13K | 895K |
| 2024 | 228K | 183K | 164K | 126K | 74K | 30K | 31K | 28K | 24K | 14K | 902K |
| 2025 | 228K | 191K | 166K | 135K | 79K | 36K | 31K | 31K | 24K | 16K | 937K |
Retail Comparison
Top 10 US Retailers
The 10 largest US retailers by headcount — from Walmart's 2.1M associates to Albertsons' 290K. Amazon's explosive growth from 34K in 2010 to 1.6M today reshaped the landscape.
2025 Total
6.5M
-0.6% YoY · 10 companies
Amazon Share
24%
1.6M of 6.5M
5-Year CAGR
+0.5%
2020 → 2025
Fastest Growing
Target
+6.0% YoY (440K)
Annual Headcount
Amazon went from startup headcount to retail's #2 employer in 15 years.
Traditional retail employment stayed relatively flat — Walmart has hovered around 2.1–2.3M for a decade. Amazon's workforce exploded from 34K in 2010 to 1.6M in 2025, a 47x increase that redefined the sector.
Top 10 US retailers by headcount
Annual headcount from 10-K filings
Source: FMP + 10-K filings · Albertsons private pre-2018 · Click categories to filter
Annual Summary
Retail headcount year by year.
| Year | Walmart | Amazon | Home Depot | Target | Kroger | TJX Companies | Costco | Walgreens | Albertsons | CVS Health | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2.1M | 34K | 317K | 351K | 334K | 154K | 82K | 238K | — | 210K | 3.8M |
| 2011 | 2.1M | 56K | 321K | 355K | 339K | 166K | 92K | 240K | — | 210K | 3.9M |
| 2012 | 2.2M | 88K | 340K | 365K | 343K | 179K | 174K | 240K | — | 213K | 4.1M |
| 2013 | 2.2M | 117K | 365K | 361K | 375K | 191K | 184K | 247K | — | 215K | 4.3M |
| 2014 | 2.2M | 154K | 371K | 366K | 400K | 198K | 195K | 252K | — | 217K | 4.4M |
| 2015 | 2.2M | 231K | 385K | 347K | 431K | 216K | 205K | 360K | — | 243K | 4.6M |
| 2016 | 2.3M | 341K | 406K | 341K | 443K | 235K | 218K | 360K | — | 243K | 4.9M |
| 2017 | 2.3M | 566K | 413K | 323K | 449K | 249K | 231K | 345K | — | 245K | 5.1M |
| 2018 | 2.3M | 648K | 413K | 345K | 453K | 270K | 245K | 354K | 275K | 295K | 5.6M |
| 2019 | 2.2M | 798K | 415K | 360K | 435K | 286K | 254K | 330K | 267K | 290K | 5.6M |
| 2020 | 2.2M | 1.3M | 500K | 368K | 465K | 340K | 273K | 331K | 270K | 300K | 6.3M |
| 2021 | 2.3M | 1.6M | 490K | 409K | 465K | 329K | 288K | 315K | 290K | 300K | 6.8M |
| 2022 | 2.3M | 1.5M | 475K | 450K | 430K | 340K | 304K | 325K | 290K | 300K | 6.8M |
| 2023 | 2.1M | 1.5M | 465K | 440K | 414K | 349K | 316K | 331K | 290K | 300K | 6.5M |
| 2024 | 2.1M | 1.6M | 472K | 415K | 409K | 364K | 333K | 312K | 290K | 300K | 6.6M |
| 2025 | 2.1M | 1.6M | 470K | 440K | 400K | 364K | 341K | 312K | 290K | 219K | 6.5M |
Methodology & Sources
Employee counts are sourced from annual SEC filings (10-K / 20-F) via Financial Modeling Prep. All figures represent full-time employees as reported at fiscal year-end. Companies that were not yet public show as zero for earlier years (Alphabet data begins 2015 after the restructuring from Google; Meta begins 2012 post-IPO; PayPal begins 2015 post-eBay spinoff). Amazon is excluded because its ~1.5M+ workforce (predominantly warehouse and logistics) distorts the tech-employment trend. Retail data combines FMP API (Walmart, Amazon, Target, Costco, Walgreens) with manually compiled 10-K figures (Home Depot, Kroger, TJX, CVS, Albertsons). Albertsons was private until 2018 and shows zero for earlier years. Employee counts include full-time and part-time as reported. Tech data is refreshed via npx tsx scripts/fetch-employment.ts nasdaq-100.