Companies working in the Facebook ecosystem employ 18 times more people than Facebook itself

"There’s that elusive Facebook effect, ramping things up again. This time, it’s the economy. It’s unwittingly urging new startups to sprout, just by existing, and by being very well liked by the masses. Geez, we may soon be calling ourselves the innovation nation.
Scads of startups are cropping up, especially in the San Francisco Bay area, with the sole aim of helping large brands including Atlantic Airways, Sony, and The Virgin Group tend to their followers on the social network. They interact with fans and followers, while boosting engagement and likes, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
Indeed, this “ecosystem” is supporting 18 times more jobs than Facebook itself, according to a University of Maryland study cited by the Mercury News."

Source:  AllFacebook, 9th May 2012