THE WORKPLACE : County Jobs Outlook Looks Better Than in the Rest of the Region

Job prospects in Orange County may be slightly better than in the rest of Southern California.

In a recent survey, more managers here than elsewhere said they plan to hire during the next six months. Thomas Temporaries spoke with 200 local managers, 24% of whom said they will be adding workers. Across the region, however, only 21% of the 1,200 executives surveyed said they plan to hire in the first half of the year.

Orange County’s numbers also look better than last year’s, when only 21% of local executives said they would be expanding their payrolls.

As for layoffs, only 9% of managers in Orange County plan to reduce staffing this year--the same proportion as in 1993. By contrast, this year 14% of Southern California executives plan to lay off workers.

“When you look at the entire Southland, Orange and San Diego County businesses are better positioned to recover quickly from the recession than other counties,” said Gene C. Wilson, president of Thomas Temporaries in Irvine.

That’s because the two counties “have a solid base of new companies in growth industries such as the health-care, high-tech and biomedical fields,” he said.