New York: Internet search and advertising giant Google Inc is the best employer in the US, according to Fortune s 100 Best Companies To Work For 2008 list. The job growth rate for Google employees is a very healthy 60 percent, and 99 percent of them get stock options and turn millionaires.

Beyond pay and perks, Googlers love the chance to try new things, the survey conducted by the business magazine said. Microsoft, which has made a bid to take over Yahoo! to compete with Google, also makes the grade but way down at 86,followed by Yahoo! itself at 87. But then Microsoft has over 47,000 people on its payroll, six times more than Google.

Cisco Systems is another tech company on the list at No.6. Other company names on the list familiar in India include Starbucks coffee chain at No.7,with a huge work force of 1,34,000. Goldman Sachs is at No.9 and doing well despite the rough weather faced by Wall Street generally. American Express is at 62,eBay at 68 and FedEx 97.

Bingham McCutchen (ranked 41), a law firm with 13 offices, turned up at the top among the best paying companies. The average annual pay here is over $210,000 for over 1,650 workers. Even those hired fresh from law schools start with a base salary of $160,000. Scuba diving classes and free iPods were some unusual perks companies gave and employees appreciated. Fortune says this annual list is based on most extensive employee survey in corporate America.

This year, it was picked up from some 1,500 short-listed firms, out of which about 400 companies responded. Nearly 100,000 employees at those companies responded to a questionnaire. The survey was conducted for Fortune by Great Place to Work Institute , a research and consulting firm.

Source : IANS