While there's no shortage of reports of mass reductions in force, not all the big companies in the tech industry report doom and gloom.

Apple, Google and Linden Labs all say they are continuing to hire people left and right. A Google spokesperson told CNet yesterday that despite earlier reports, the company extended 30 people job offers last week and added 519 employees in the 3rd quarter of the year. They admit that that's a slowed pace, but they say it's far from a freeze.

Apple, on the other hand, appears to be experiencing a big increase in hiring. Silicon Alley Insider wrote today that the Apple headcount rose 48% in Fiscal 2008. SAI suspects that a majority of these are retail employees though, not engineers. Apple now employs 32,000 full time folks - if you're curious Google has 20k. (It's a trick question though, because of those retail stores again!)

Finally, SAI also reports that Linden Labs says it's on a hiring spree, too. Again in response to stories of mass layoffs, the company points to its employment page where there are more than 40 positions open. How many of those are real? It's hard to say. Some of them must be though.

The moral of the story? HIres go on at companies big and small. We'll cover them all right here on Jobwire.