by jJack Midknight
Member since:
August 19, 2006

The World's Largest Employers: Prepare To Be Surprised

October 07, 2009 05:10 AM EDT (Updated: October 07, 2009 05:12 AM EDT)
views: 322 | comments: 33

When people think of "big business," they naturally tend to think of multinational companies, probably with their origins in the USA. People think of jobs, lots of jobs, and which company might have the most employees in the world.

I know I was surprise when I discovered which companies comprised the four largest employers in the world. Shocked really, I expected most of them to be just as I have described above. Sadly, I was completely wrong, except for the entry at fourth place.

The largest employer in the world is *drum roll please* Indian Railways, as in trains traversing the nation of India. The second largest employer in the world is The National Health Services of the United Kingdom. Just think about that for a second, as we contemplate what has come to be known as "universal healthcare." The third largest employer in the world is The People's Liberation Army, and please, give that a thought too. The fourth largest employer in the world, however-- the largest PRIVATE ENTERPRISE employer, is WalMart, and I think we're all familiar with that company too.   SOURCE

Does any of this surprise you, and if so, why ??

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Comments: 33

Dorothy H. Oct 7, 2009, 5:49am EDT
I wasn't surprised to hear the name Walmart, and I was only surprised about the othes because I never really thought about it before, but it's interesting to learn.
jJack Midknight Oct 7, 2009, 5:53am EDT
well, that's kind of the point *chuckle* thanks for the input Dorothy ! ! !
Lee P. Oct 7, 2009, 5:54am EDT
No surprise. Places with the largest populations will more than likely have more people working. I'm guessing that the salaries aren't as good as the Wal Mart employees, including Universal Health Care employees. Oh well, at least they are not growing poppies in Afghanistan...Yikes.
jJack Midknight Oct 7, 2009, 6:00am EDT
okay everyone is a sage *chuckle* thanks for the input Lee....
Lee Y. Oct 7, 2009, 7:54am EDT
Lee brought up a good point about population. I wouldn't have thought of that.

I was surprised Wal Mart was listed .. don't know why I was surprised though.

I'm not surprised that UK Health care services aka "the government" is the largest employer. Tennessee Ernie's 16 Tons comes to mind. Do you know it?
You load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
jJack Midknight Oct 7, 2009, 10:03am EDT
The United Kingdom, is one of the smaller nations of the world, with a mere 61 million people or so, yet their healthcare system is one of the largest employers in the world.

I'm not sure how population squares with that.
Dorothy H. Oct 7, 2009, 7:00pm EDT
What all constitutes the United Kingdom?
Dorothy H. Oct 7, 2009, 7:02pm EDT
Lee, Wasn;t the, "16 tons", song talking about Big Corperations?
jJack Midknight Oct 7, 2009, 7:32pm EDT
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and unitary state consisting of four countries--- England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Tennessee Ernie Ford-- classic.
It's a Merle Travis song. Ernie Ford had the pop crossover hit with it.
Buzz B. Oct 7, 2009, 8:24am EDT
I'm not surprized.
jJack Midknight Oct 7, 2009, 10:04am EDT
next time, in the title I'll suggest no one will be surprised, and THEN I'll watch all the surprised reactions *chuckle*
Cathi L. Oct 7, 2009, 8:43am EDT
The multinational companies that would have come to mind probably use a lot of outsourced/contracted work instead of employees. I didn't notice anything on that in your source link.

Not surprised at Walmart though!
jJack Midknight Oct 7, 2009, 10:04am EDT
Hard tellin' Cathi, and thanks for the input ! ! !
Tim Nelson Oct 7, 2009, 9:20am EDT
Manual labor is not dead, but it is not too healthy either.

Farming got labor saving machines, consumers got labor saving machines, and then finally we got computers.

I'm trying to picture a comeback in manual labor, but the flack they get for providing low wage jobs is hardly worth it.
jJack Midknight Oct 7, 2009, 10:05am EDT
why would you want a "comeback" for manual labor when working with your brain is so much more efficient ???
Tim Nelson Oct 7, 2009, 10:40am EDT
My brain, or Vo-tech grads in general?
Tim Nelson Oct 7, 2009, 10:41am EDT
LOL (forgot)
jJack Midknight Oct 7, 2009, 11:31am EDT
you could of course, be the exception....
Tim Nelson Oct 7, 2009, 10:45am EDT
I consider the top employers to be providing manual labor, just to be clear. I know it could have been clearer.
jJack Midknight Oct 7, 2009, 11:32am EDT
then you are woefully outdated in your archaic thinking.....
Risa G. Oct 7, 2009, 12:28pm EDT
I wasn't surprised at all. The train company makes a fortune in India as that is how people commute to work and there are millions of people in India. I am not surprised by the fact that Wal Mart is the 4th largest in the world. Have you seen how many stores have opened in the last few years?
jJack Midknight Oct 7, 2009, 3:23pm EDT
everyone is a genius but me, apparently..... *chuckle*
constantly Constance M. Oct 7, 2009, 3:54pm EDT
WalMart yes....they'll come to your small town and swollow it up with a smile on their faces.
jJack Midknight Oct 7, 2009, 5:33pm EDT
that would match the smile on the consumers faces, I suppose, else how would walmart eat up the small town, without the willing consent and shopping of the residents of that town ???
constantly Constance M. Oct 7, 2009, 11:27pm EDT
hense the yellow happy faces flying around the adds, price cutting....with a smile on their face.... just trying to be cute
Like the new pic, are you merciless jJack >giggle
jJack Midknight Oct 8, 2009, 12:09pm EDT
Well, I'm not Ming the Merciless, but-- well, I am heartless *chuckle*
Heather E. Oct 7, 2009, 10:35pm EDT
I was surprised, but mostly I am sleepy. It gives me something to ponder
jJack Midknight Oct 7, 2009, 10:45pm EDT
good night and thanks for the input ! ! !
Baby J. Oct 8, 2009, 8:09am EDT
I was very surprised that the UK's NHS made the list.

Here's a list of the UK's top employers.

1 NHS - 1,300,000
2 Ministry of Defence - 400,000
3 Tesco - 250,000
4 HSBC - 253,000 worldwide
5 J Sainsbury - 150,000
6 Asda - 150,000
7 Barclays - 147,000 worldwide
8 RBS Group - 136,000 worldwide
9 BT - 102,000
10 BP - 108,000 worldwide

http://www.personneltoday.com/hrspace/forums/who-are-the-largest-employers-in-the-uk-505.aspx
jJack Midknight Oct 8, 2009, 12:09pm EDT
I was very surprised that the UK's NHS made the list.

Me too....
David C. Oct 8, 2009, 5:31pm EDT
I am ashamed to admit that I was surprised. Why? I guess that many Americans think that we hold the title on the biggest and best of everything. I should know better.
jJack Midknight Oct 8, 2009, 5:36pm EDT
David, consider the first three are state operated entities. Only Walmart is based in the free market.

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