Anyone still convinced the recession has not turned doesn’t pay attention to Google. The Internet giant has announced, per this Mercury News report, that it could hire as many as 6,000 new workers this year. Definitely a great sign for the Bay Area’s economy, this hiring plan would bring the company’s employee total to more than 30,000 by the start of 2012.

Even at 30,000, Google will still be significantly smaller than Silicon Valley giants such as Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard and Intel, yet will be more than double the size of Yahoo! and more than six times the staff size of its most formidable competitor in the Internet space: Facebook.

In a recent interview, captured in the Mercury News, Google senior vice president Alan Eustace said, "Obviously, we're optimistic about the future. The growth that we're seeing across a lot of different areas is really based on seeds we planted a long time ago. We made investment decisions a long time ago to plant the seeds in different areas, and the exciting part is those seeds are actually developing now; those seeds are coming into fruition. I think it's unusual for a company to see so many opportunities align."

Google has ambitious plans to become a powerful force in specific areas of the Internet beyond search. The company is rapidly expanding the number of engineers focused on initiatives such as the Android smartphone and tablet operating system, maps and location-based services to drive advertising revenue, and products based on the Chrome browser and operating system.

Much of the planned hiring will happen in and around the company’s main headquarters in Mountain View, although as many as 1,000 workers will be added in Europe. Google currently operates more than 60 offices in 30 countries.

The company’s hiring plans are a positive sign for the economy. According to Stephen Levy of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy in Palo Alto, Google and the industry have both reached a point where new sales growth translates into hiring growth. Levy believes this is a significant sign for Silicon Valley and for the region.

Last week, Google reported fourth-quarter revenue at $8.44 billion, which was a 26 percent jump compared with the fourth quarter of 2009. Profits were reported at $2.54 billion, or $7.81 per share, a 29 percent jump over the same quarter in 2009.

In the past, analysts have voiced their concerns regarding Google’s free-spending ways, yet now many admit Google has been able to grow during the recession, something Yahoo was unable to do. And, with Microsoft’s Bing still not profitable, there is no reason for Google to slow down, according to Rick Munarriz, senior analyst at The Motley Fool.

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Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TechZone360 and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Janice McDuffee