ORANGE COUNTY BRIEFLY

Office Work Outlook: Looking for office work in Orange County? Now is the best time since 1987, according to a study by Irvine-based Thomas Temporaries.

In its report, Thomas said that 26% of the companies it surveyed in Southern California expect their need for full-time employees to increase. Only 5% said they expect their need to decrease.

That’s a net gain of 21 percentage points--the highest since 1987, Thomas reported.

“This is very encouraging because it confirms that downsizing and layoffs in our marketplace have bottomed out,” said Gene Wilson, president of Thomas Temporaries. He added that brightest prospects across the Southland are in Orange and San Diego counties.

The most sought clerical job in 1995 will be customer service representative, although Thomas’ study reported that employment increases are expected in nearly every other office job category.

Thomas’ study, its 10th annual, was based on interviews with personnel executives at 1,353 randomly selected companies in six counties in Southern California. The study was conducted in the fourth quarter of 1994 by Market Research Associates of Irvine.