Governments have been trying to regulate tech giants for years, but so far, the likes of Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft have remained, for the most part, a step ahead.
Job listings for public policy managers and government affairs experts have shot up in recent weeks as big tech faces more scrutiny than ever. Last week, a new round of antitrust bills prompted Google and Amazon to speak out against the lawmakers who created them, saying that the bills would actually hurt small businesses.
Meanwhile, Alphabet, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft have only grown bigger since the start of the pandemic. The companies have become worth a combined $2.5 trillion more in the past 15 months alone. Facebook’s market cap even hit $1 trillion for the first time last week when a dismissed antitrust complaint sent its stock jumping 4%.
That growth, coupled with government pressure, may have led big tech companies to step up hiring for experts who can represent their interests, as well as advise them on competition issues related to acquisitions, something big tech does a lot of.
According to our data, Amazon has more public policy-related openings than any other company, with 169 listings as of July 6, a 92% increase in six months. Some of those positions include public policy manager and public relations specialist. The rest of big tech has stepped up hiring in the past six months: currently, Google has 112 listings and Facebook has 85. The total number of openings for Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Microsoft has increased nearly 50% in that time.
Facebook’s hiring for similar positions has risen 63% in the past six months as the social media giant has faced case after case this year. Google and Microsoft, meanwhile, have outpaced Facebook and increased their hiring by 229% and 130%, respectively.
Here’s a list of the most frequently posted jobs across all companies:
Title |
Ticker Symbol |
Number of Unique Jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Manager, Public Policy | nasdaq:amzn | 20 |
| Senior Manager, Public Policy | nasdaq:amzn | 18 |
| AWS Security Automation & Development Engineer (Government) | nasdaq:amzn | 17 |
| Public Relations Specialist - Amazon Tours program | nasdaq:amzn | 16 |
| Public Relations Manager, Physical Retail | nasdaq:amzn | 12 |
| State and Local Government Manager, Google Cloud, Government Affairs and Public Policy | nasdaq:goog | 11 |
| Enterprise Account Manager - National Security and Public Safety | nasdaq:amzn | 9 |
| Business Development, Technology Partners – AWS Government Regions | nasdaq:amzn | 7 |
| Capture Manager – US State & Local Government Sales | nasdaq:amzn | 7 |
| Senior Account Manager, Switzerland Central Government (German Speaking) | nasdaq:amzn | 7 |
| Account Executive (Government) | nasdaq:msft | 6 |
| Manager, Government Affairs and Public Policy, YouTube | nasdaq:goog | 6 |
| Senior Engagement Manager (State Local Government / Education focus), AWS Professional Services | nasdaq:amzn | 6 |
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online, jobs, social and web traffic, product sales, and app ratings, and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue, and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.
