LinkedIn has published the 2021 LinkedIn Top Companies list in 20 global markets, an annual guide that identifies the best places for professionals to grow their careers and develop skills. All 50 companies on the U.S. list are currently hiring, with more than 300,000 jobs available right now.
Topping the U.S. list are tech titans and Top Company alums Amazon (#1) and Alphabet (#2), joined by finance and telecom leaders JPMorgan Chase & Co.(#3), AT&T (#4) and Bank of America (#5). The rest of the list is dominated by companies whose products and services helped navigate the new way of living during the pandemic — from health care to tech, shipping to retail, and real estate to automotive — many of which are new to the list this year. The Top Companies are investing in employee success, career development, and equity and inclusion to ensure they continue to be among the best workplaces for employee growth now, and in a post-pandemic world.
“The past year has presented extraordinary challenges, and the best companies have realized that they have to put their employees first,” said LinkedIn Editor-in-Chief Daniel Roth. “Our new Top Companies methodology allowed us to surface the companies who are investing in employee skills and growth — whether through training, advancement opportunities or connections — as we all navigate the new normal. And for those who are out of work or looking for their next job, all of the companies on this list are hiring, with more than 300,000 open roles and plenty of lessons about the skills they’re investing in to help you guide your own career.”
Here are the top 10 companies on the list:
- Amazon
- Alphabet
- JPMorgan Chase & Co.
- AT&T
- Bank of America
- IBM
- Deloitte
- Apple
- Walmart
- EY
Key trends from the Top Companies list include:
- HELPING AMERICA HEAL. 10% of the honorees on this year’s Top Companies list are in the health care industry, and employees in this sector have been needed more than ever due to the pandemic. The majority of the companies are new to the list, reinforcing their crucial demand over the past year, including UnitedHealth Group (#11), CVS Health (#15), Kaiser Permanente (#23) and HCA Healthcare (#34). Additionally, Top Companies alum Johnson & Johnson (#30) returns to the list for the fourth time this year. Many of these organizations are paying it back internally, with HCA Healthcare (#34) developing a Pandemic Pay Program that offers 70% of wages if employees are unable to work, and Kaiser Permanente (#23) providing employees with $3,000 per year for continued education.
- PRIORITIZING A DIVERSE WORKPLACE. The majority of the Top Companies have made commitments to improve equity in the workplace and beyond, with financial support, increased representation in leadership, and development of retention and mobility programs. Alphabet (#2), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (#3), Bank of America (#5), UPS (#45), Raytheon Technologies (#16) and others have pledged major financial commitments to assist with economic, social and racial inequality, and several are engaging in partnerships with HBCUs to improve equity in hiring. Many companies have internal programs focused on retention and belonging, like Amazon’s (#1) Future Engineer childhood-to-career initiative and its commitment to double Black leaders in the U.S.; Deloitte’s (#7) Healing Circles program to hold critical discussions on mental health and well-being related to racial injustice; and Verizon’s (#14) Women of the World and Ally Skills Training programs.
- BUILDING OUR NEW LIVES AT HOME. As we settled into our pandemic lives — moving to bigger spaces, traveling domestically and ordering in for everything we needed — companies that helped build more of a life at home soared. New to this year’s list, Keller Williams (#20) and Realogy (#31) provide growing opportunities for professionals in real estate as the market continues to skyrocket. Automakers General Motors (#37) and Ford Motor Company (#44) also make their debut. FedEx (#42) and UPS (#45) have become integral to many people’s pandemic experience, as have retailers Walmart (#9), Target (#28) and The Home Depot (#48). Many of these companies are investing in their employees, with UPS (#45) offering degree-earning courses at no cost to their workers, and the Walmart (#9) Academies program which provides immersive training in functional, translatable skills.
- THE FUTURE OF FLEXIBLE WORKING. When the pandemic upended the way many people were used to working, companies stepped up to help make the transition easier. Many of the Top Companies now offer flexible hours and working styles: Cisco (#22) decreased workloads by 20% with its Interim Reduced Workweek, and PwC (#17) gave employees the ability to create a reduced schedule and job share. Many of these companies also implemented mandatory “off hours” and company-wide days off to encourage balance. Others provided extra resources for parents, including stipends for child care and assistance with remote learning for employees’ children.
The complete U.S. Top Companies list, along with additional lists in global markets, interviews and special features, can be found here. To join the conversation on social media, search @LinkedIn and #LinkedInTopCompanies.
