Employers in the Temple metro area will keep a steady pace of hiring during the third quarter of 2009, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released last week.

From July to September, 17 percent of the companies interviewed plan to hire more workers; 9 percent expect to reduce their payrolls; and 71 percent see no change. That beats the national outlook.

“The hiring activity is expected to be lighter than the previous quarter when 21 percent of companies surveyed planned to increase staff levels and 4 percent expected to cut payrolls,” Dennis Bolding, Temple Manpower spokesman, said.

Across the United States, 15 percent said they will increase staff levels during the quarter, 76 percent predict no change and 13 percent expect to reduce.

Job prospects in the Temple-Killeen area will be best in just about every industry segment other than durable goods manufacturing.