1 Rhode Island Company Ranked Among Forbes’ Best Employers

PROVIDENCE, RI — Workers gave high marks to one company headquartered in Rhode Island in a survey for Forbes’ annual lists of America’s Best Midsize Employers.

In Rhode Island, Gilbane, a Providence-based company, ranks No. 24 on the list, according to Forbes. Gilbane is a national construction and real estate development firm. It was founded in 1870 and is a sixth-generation, family-owned business.

The ranking, produced with the market research firm Statista, is based on surveys of employees at U.S. companies. Companies with 1,000-5,000 workers were categorized as midsize companies, and those with more than 5,000 were categorized as large employers.

Responses were given by current employees who had worked for the company within the past two years, and individuals familiar with the company through friends, family or industry peers.

Greater weight was given to the evaluations from current and former employees, Forbes said. This year, data from the past three surveys was included and weighted more heavily to identify companies that have received high rankings consistently over time.

Tech industry giants Microsoft, Google, Salesforce and Meta are among at least 139 companies that have collectively laid off more than 34,000 workers so far in 2024, yet those companies all found a place on the best large employers list, Forbes said.

Nationally, the Top 10 large employers on Forbes’ list are:

1. Novo Nordisk, a New Jersey-based drugs and biotechnology company employing 55,000 people;
2. Garmin, a Kansas-based semiconductor, electronics and electrical engineering company employing 19,000 people;
3. Cook Children’s Healthcare System, a Texas-based health care and social services system employing 9,000 people.
4. Children’s Hospital Colorado, a health care and social services system employing 8,000 people;
5. Delta Air Lines, a Georgia-based transportation and logistics company employing 95,000 people;
6. In-N-Out Burger, a California-based quick, fast, casual chain employing 39,000 people;
7. Houston Methodist, a Texas-based health care and social services system employing 29,730 people;
8. eXp Realty, a Washington-based business services and supplies company employing 8,800 people;
9. St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, a Tennessee-based health care and social services system employing 5,001 people;
10. The University of Kansas Health System, a health care and social services system employing 15,000 people.

In the midsize category, the top 10 companies in the United States are:

1. California State University, Los Angeles (education);
2. Edgewell Personal Care, based in Connecticut (packaged goods);
3. Alzheimer’s Association, based in Illinois (health care and social services);
4. Businessolver, based in Iowa (IT software and services);
5. Jupiter Medical System, based in Florida (health care and social services);
6. City Tech, CUNY, based in New York (education);
7. Caltech, based in California (education);
8. Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, based in New York (insurance)
9. Utz Quality Foods, based in Pennsylvania (food, soft beverages, alcohol and tobacco);
10. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, based n Washington, D.C. (government services).

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