Social networking giant Facebook on a hiring spree

SAN FRANCISCO: Mark Zuckerberg is going to need to find some more pinball machines and rock-climbing walls. The social networking company, known for its many perks that make it a regular on the hottest-places-to-work lists, is increasing headcount at an incredible pace. Facebook, which reported on Wednesday that sales fell short of estimates, passed the 10,000-employee mark last quarter.

With a total of 10,082 at the end of March, Facebook increased headcount by 48% compared with the same time last year. Forty-eight percent is an eye-popping number. Google grew only 12% last year.

The online search company actually reduced headcount from the third to fourth quarter, partly due to the closing of its sale of Motorola Mobility to Lenovo.

When asked on the earnings call about Facebook's hiring spree, CFO Dave Wehner said the company is basically beefing up everywhere, and that growth skews toward research and development.