Only halfway through the year, Google has already added 4,368 full-time employees, according to its second quarter earnings report.
Google has said that this will be its largest hiring year ever, surpassing the more than 6,000 employees it added in 2007. The company is already 72% of the way toward the 6,000 figure. The company added 2,452 workers this quarter, compared to 1,916 new employees in the first quarter of this year.
CEO Larry Page acknowledged in the company's earnings call the negative reaction that Wall Street had to its spending on new hires in the first quarter, but said that "continuing to hire the best" and keeping employees "well-rewarded and happy" is crucial to Google's long-term success.
"We will optimize headcount for the long-term and the opportunities we see," Page said.
However, he suggested that the hiring numbers may not continue on the same pace over the course of the rest of the year.
"We're a little ahead of where we need to be with headcount growth," Page said.
The "majority" of Google's hiring is in engineering, which is "the core of the business," said Nikesh Arora, senior vice president of corporate development and chief legal officer, in the company's earnings call. After engineering, most hires are in sales, Arora said.
Page said during the call that the company's across the board compensation hikes in the first quarter "had even more of a positive affect on hiring and retention than we expected" and that has had an impact on the rate of hiring.
He added: "The exact rate [going forward] is going to depend on success and where we want to invest in the company."
Google reported revenue of $6.92 billion this quarter, excluding revenue passed on to partner sites, compared with $5.09 billion in the first quarter.
Related: How Google Finds New Recruits
Write to Joseph Walker
