Firms Expect to Expand Payrolls 14% by 1999

Companies in the east county expect to increase their payrolls by 14% in the next five years, according to a survey conducted by Moorpark College.

The federally funded study found that 73 responding companies expect to hire 2,500 new workers by mid-1999, according to Vicki Bortolussi, the college’s dean of vocational education.

The companies, mostly in Camarillo, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks, now have 17,600 full- and part-time employees.

Most of the new positions will be in manufacturing, engineering, customer service, accounting, nursing and scientific research, the study showed.