Who are the world's largest employers? Check the list

Giant retailer Wal-Mart Stores, with 1.8 million employees, tops the first published list of the world's 500 largest corporate employers.

Home to nearly half of the companies on the list, the United States boasts the largest employers in 13 out of 28 industries. And although most of the world's newest jobs are in the services sector, thanks to Wal-Mart, giant retailers on average employ the highest number of workers – nearly 150,000 per company – according to the study by My Global Career, the first blog-based careers site for global workers and employers seeking global-ready talent.

Links to each employer's job site are included in this free directory of companies that employ more than 45 million workers around the world.

Topping the list are these giant enterprises*:

   1.  Wal-Mart Stores, United States, 1,800,000 employees

   2.  Deutsche Post, Germany, 502,545 employees

   3.  Siemens Group, Germany, 461,000 employees

   4.  McDonald's, United States, 447,000 employees

   5.  Carrefour, France, 440,479 employees

   6.  Compass Group, United Kingdom, 410,074 employees

   7.  United Parcel Service, United States, 407,000 employees

   8.  Gazprom, Russia, 396,571 employees

   9.  DaimlerChrysler, Germany, 382,724 employees

   10. Hitachi, Japan, 355,879 employees