O.C. Manufacturers Expect to Boost Hiring

Despite the Asian crunch, manufacturing employers in Orange County are looking to increase their hiring in the fourth quarter this year, according to Manpower Inc., the international temporary hiring agency that does quarterly surveys of permanent employment trends.

About 30% of the businesses in the county--led by manufacturing, construction, utilities, transportation, and financial and real estate companies--anticipate increasing their work forces in the final three months of the year, said Sue Foigelman, Irvine-based regional manager for Manpower. Only 5%--one of the lowest rates among the state’s major regions--say they expect to cut employment.

Nationally, Manpower said in its just-released fourth-quarter survey, 29% of employers foresee increasing employment and 4% say they will trim their payrolls.