FAANG tech firms hiring more, metaverse to fuel jobs this year

The FAANG companies (Facebook-Meta, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google) listed over 250,000 jobs in 2021 -- a rise of around 44 per cent when compared to 2020, a new report showed on Friday.

The job listings related to 'big data' and 'cloud' increased by 57 per cent in 2021, when compared to 2020, and jobs related to themes such as 'digital media', 'digitalisation' and 'mobile' more than doubled. 'AI' and 'industrial automation' were other trending themes that witnessed a high number of listings, according to GlobalData.

This year, Meta (Facebook) is exploring verticals beyond gaming and social media in its reach towards the metaverse, developing content categories and ecosystems, as well as creating a marketing strategy for wearables and AR products.

Meanwhile, Amazon Web Series is deepening its strategic relationship with Epic Games through metaverse tech.


"The companies need to engage and influence customers through social commerce experiences more than ever, and this likely influenced the high number of listings in areas such as digital media and mobile, which more than doubled in 2021," said Ajay Kumar Thalluri, business fundamentals analyst at GlobalData.

Although the total number of job listings increased in 2021, FAANG companies took an average of over two months to close a job listing during the year.

Lower job duration -- the time elapsed between the day when a job was listed to the day it was closed -- suggests that there is enough talent available to quickly hire for a role, while higher duration could mean less available talent or lack of specific skills, the report noted.


"Tech giants are striving to retain users - especially the new subscribers added during the pandemic - and generate new content. They are also searching for talent to prepare for the emerging themes such as augmented reality (AR), metaverse, and Web 3.0," said Rupantar Guha, principal analyst.

Alphabet (Google) listed roles in Ghana in 2021 to help seed and grow operations in the country, while it also facilitated new partnership agreements in Sweden.

Meanwhile, Netflix renewed focus on the South Korea, Thailand, and South-East Asia (SEA) region in 2021.


Apple continued to post jobs requiring automotive experience for its electric car project 'Titan'. The company is hiring a data scientist role with experience in automotive ADAS.

"The infamous Apple car is still a long way off. At the very earliest, we might expect to see something by 2025, but it is very likely that it will be delayed beyond that date, said Daniel Clarke, thematic analyst.

Looking forward, FAANG companies are expected to keep up hiring requirements in 2022.

"Meta is set to launch its first digital wallet as a standalone app in 2022; meanwhile, Alphabet is hiring for a 'Program Lead, Partner Customer Advisory Boards (CAB)' for strategic development and execution of programs for Google Cloud," said Thalluri. - IANS