MILWAUKEE - Fort Collins-Loveland area employers expect to hire at a modest but encouraging pace during the first quarter of 2010, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released Tuesday.

From January through March, 10 percent of companies interviewed planned to hire more employees while 9 percent are expected to reduce their payrolls. Another 78 percent said they expected to maintain their current staffing levels and 3 percent were uncertain about their hiring plans.

The survey by the Milwaukee-based employment services company found employers in the Greeley area less optimistic about their hiring plans. Only 7 percent of companies interviewed said they planned to hire more workers in the first quarter of 2010 while 14 percent expected to decrease their staffs. Seventy-six percent said they expected to hold steady and 3 percent were uncertain.

Boulder area employers were most optimistic in the survey, with 15 percent of companies interviewed planning to hire workers in the quarter and 11 percent expecting to reduce their employee numbers. Seventy percent were going to maintain their staffs and 4 percent weren't certain.

The survey also found 12 percent of Colorado Springs area employers interviewed planning to hire in the quarter and 14 percent expecting to downsize. The Denver-Aurora area had the worst hiring outlook of the metropolitan areas surveyed in Colorado, with 8 percent planning to hire and 11 percent intending to cut their worker numbers.

For the nation, the survey revealed that, among the 28,000 employers interviewed, 12 percent planned to hire and 12 percent planned to reduce their employees.