The unemployment rate rose so fast in 2008 and 2009 that in some months the US lost more than 500,000 jobs. That trend has only begun to reverse itself this year, and the progress is slow. Last month, the American economy added 200,000 workers, hardly enough to make up for the jobs lost during the deepest recession in eight decades.

These small “green sprouts” of labor improvement often happen as thousands of small businesses each add a few employees. That is probably not true with the current recovery. Small businesses have little access to capital. Banks are wary of making loans to firms which have little cash and often a modest number of customers. Large companies, however, have found it easy to raise money in the capital markets. Interest rates are at the lowest levels in memory. Corporate bond issues are near record levels.

Job additions have been limited to a relatively small number of industries. The banking sector was so badly damaged in the credit crisis that some of the jobs lost may never return. The same is true of American manufacturers. Many of these jobs have gone overseas where labor is less expensive and will never come back

24/7 Wall St. analyzed data from Challenger Gray & Christmas, one of the leading employment consulting firms, to see which American companies have announced job additions for 2011. We also looked at individual announcements by public companies which have disclosed major hiring plans.

Oddly enough, what the data shows is that the retail sector plans to do some significant hiring. Retailers cut a large number of jobs during the recession as consumer spending fell. However, holiday sales were surprisingly strong. And, there is optimism that people will begin to work on their homes again after two years during which many people could not afford to.

This is 24/7 Wall St.’s list of The Ten US Companies Adding Workers:

1. Home Depot
> Increase: 60,000
> Total Employees: 321,000
> Industry: Retail

The largest home improvement retailer has taken a gamble. The housing market is still in a slump and the benchmark S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices could drop another 10% this year.  People may decide to improve the houses they have because they may be stuck with them for years. If high gas prices hurt consumer spending, the Home Depot decision may be ill-advised.

2. McDonald’s
> Increase: 50,000
> Total Employees: 400,000
> Industry: Restaurants

The fast food giant continues to post gains in worldwide revenue and U.S. same-store sales. There is a theory that depressed wages send people to low-priced restaurants where it’s cheaper to buy an unhealthy meal there than a healthy one at a grocery store. McDonald’s could continue to take market share away from rivals such as Burger King.

3. Lowe’s
> Increase: 10,000
> Total Employees: 234,000
> Industry: Retail

The Lowe’s decision mirrors the one by larger rival Home Depot. Spring is the big season for home improvement because it is prime time for home sales and the weather is warm enough for people to work outside on their projects.

4. Ford
> Increase: 7,000
> Total Employees: 164,000
> Industry: Automotive

The US car industry has finally begun to turn up after brutal drops in sales in 2008 and 2009. The recession and labor costs forced GM and Chrysler into Chapter 11 and even cut the progress of powerful Japanese imports led by Toyota. Ford avoided many of the troubles which faced its two US peers when it borrowed $23 billion to finance operations through the worst of the economic storm. Sales are now strong enough that it can add workers.

5. Google
> Increase: 6,200
> Total Employees: 24,400
> Industry: Computer

Nearly every quarter, Google says it will hire more people. This always upsets Wall St. Google’s core business of search advertising no longer grows at as high of a rate as it once did. Many of the new engineers work on software products which bring in little or no revenue including Android, Google desktops apps and the company’s mapping products.

6. Intel
> Increase: 4,000
> Total Employees: 82,500
> Industry: Computer

Intel has benefited from the launch of Windows 7 and a general pick-up in PC and server sales. Now, the largest chipmaker is powering into the tablet PC and smartphone businesses where it has a large number of competitors which want to supply the “brains” for iPads and iPhones. If Intel can pick up market share in these sectors, it will hire even more workers.

7. Quintiles
> Increase: 1,700
> Total Employees: 20,000+
> Industry: Pharmaceutical

The company is at the core of biopharma services, one of the world’s hottest industries. It has a large contract research business to handle the service for other companies. Quintiles recently announced it will bring its clinical trial services to a global consortium supported in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and aimed at bringing new, affordable medicines to the world’s poorest countries.

8. Amazon.com
> Increase: 1,600
> Total Employees: 33,700
> Industry: Online Shopping

Amazon.com is the most successful e-commerce company in the world and is quickly becoming one of the largest retailers of any kind. Amazon’s biggest challenge is not its presence on the web–it is logistics. The company maintains huge distribution centers across the US where products are stored and shipped. Amazon intends to add the bulk of its new workers in this section of its business.

9. YRC Worldwide
> Increase: 1,100
> Total Employees: 55,000
> Industry: Transportation

This large truck hauling firm has been slashing costs and laying off workers. The recession undercut the need for heavy transportation and hurt competitors like the US Postal Service, FedEx, and UPS. YRC has found that it can only fire so many people and remain viable, so it has taken a very modest step to restaff.

10. Wells Fargo
> Increase: 1,000
> Total Employees: 280,000
> Industry: Financial

This is a small addition for such a large financial firm. Its mid-Atlantic business is strong enough so that it has boosted its staff there. If Wells Fargo’s big mortgage operation has increased activity, it will probably add even more people.

Douglas A. McIntyre, Charles Stockdale

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