On June 16, Ballmer said Microsoft employs more than 70,000 people globally. Now we know exactly how many workers the company has, and where.

With no fanfare, Microsoft updated its Web site to reflect employment figures as of July 25.

Global employees
Sept. 30, 2005: 63,564
July 25, 2006: 71,553, increase of 7,989 or 12.6 percent

U.S. employees
Sept. 30, 2005: 40,081
July 25, 2006: 44,298, increase of 4,217 or 10.5 percent

Puget Sound employees
Sept. 30, 2005: 30,255
July 25, 2006: 33,333, increase of 3,078 or 10.2 percent