Increased Demand Found for Temporary Office Help

The demand by Orange County companies for temporary office personnel will increase significantly this year, a new survey projects.

The study, released by Thomas Staffing, an Irvine employment services company, found that 21% of county businesses expect to add to their temporary work force in 1997, up from 15% a year ago. Only 9% expect to reduce their temporary work force, compared to 10% in 1996, it found.

Orange County companies also plan to boost hiring of full-time permanent staff, Thomas Staffing found. Of those surveyed, 26% said they would hire more full-time employees this year, compared to 21% last year. Companies expecting their permanent work force to decline edged up to 6% from 5% last year.

Gene C. Wilson, Thomas Staffing’s president, said the findings reflect the county’s strongly rebounding economy. He also noted that Orange County has a high concentration of businesses in fast-growing industries, such as high tech, biomedicine and health care.

The survey also found that businesses throughout a six-county Southern California region expect to increase their hiring of office personnel in 1997.

The study found that 18% of companies surveyed in the six-county region plan to add temporary workers this year, while 10% said they would cut their temporary staff. Last year, 15% said they would boost temporary employment and 11% planned a decrease. Full-time, permanent employment is expected to rise at 23% of the companies surveyed and decline at 5%. In 1996, 19% expected an increase, while 6% planned a reduction in the number of permanent workers.

The interviews were conducted during the fourth quarter with 951 randomly selected companies in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Kern counties.