A new poll of Sacramento companies finds most of them plan to bring on new workers in the fourth-quarter.

"Seventy percent of employers are planning to hire in October, November, December," says Rick Reed who conducted the survey for the placement firm Pacific Staffing. He says about half of the hiring will be to replace workers who are retiring or leaving for other reasons. And 47 percent will be for growth...or to add new workers.

"Twenty percent of employers said they can't fill those basic jobs," says Reed. "Qualified applicants are being sought for a wide variety of finance and accounting positions: escrow mortgage, CPAs, bookkeepers. Engineering and customer service are both in high demand."

He says employers in the fourth-quarter are also looking for: line cooks...and workers for sales, warehouse, manufacturing and shipping positions.

The poll also finds a generational shift in the workforce is creating challenges for some employers.

"Seventy-seven percent of them said they were having a difficult time with an eroding work ethic, a lack of a driven workforce," says Reed. "And many of those were younger workers who were found to be less driven to work. And this change in work ethic is going to require some adaptation by both employees and employers."

He says a generational attitude with an entitlement outlook is creating attendance, productivity and retention issues. Of the companies polled: 46 percent are Service; 26 percent are Manufacturers; 16 percent are Construction; and 12 percent are Retail.

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