The need for skilled workers in Temecula will grow in the new year, according to local experts.

The number of companies looking for workers with specialized skills is growing, said Lisa Dana, the manager of AppleOne, a job placement agency in Temecula.

Local employers turn to her when they need employees, so she knows what kinds of jobs are hiring, she said.

"Technology. Manufacturing. Software. That is definitely where hiring is going to be hot. It's definitely going to be positive," Dana said.

Other countries are the cause, said Tom Freeman, spokesperson for the Riverside County Economic Department.

Foreign clients are buying more American products, and it's giving the local technology, biomedical and manufacturing industries a boost, said Freeman, who is also the Riverside County Commissioner of the Office of Foreign Trade.

"Clearly we'll see improvements in international purchasing," he said about the new year.

The new jobs are much needed. The unemployment rate in Southwest Riverside County hovers around 17 percent, according to the California Economic Development Department.

Despite the high unemployment rate, some local businesses have a hard time finding qualified workers.

Temecula-based technology firm Helixstorm, for example, started looking for two new employees this year to help with an influx of new projects.

Helixstorm specializes in condensing a company's computer network to one location and setting up a secure way to access it, Schnieder said.

He hopes to find somebody living in the area to fill the positions, he said.

"We do like to find local talent," he said. "One of the reasons we established in Temecula was because there was a lack of technical expertise in the area we service, and we said, 'If we live here, and we work here, we want to help Temecula in general become a better place to live.'"

The U.S. Department of Commerce, which Freeman works with, aims to bring more high-tech businesses to the valley, he said.

Plans are on the table to expand San Diego's foreign trade zone to the region. If this happens, new businesses may be drawn to Temecula and neighboring cities, Freeman said.

"I know what we're doing is making it a more welcoming environment for technology," he said.

This may make finding qualified local employees harder, since some are already struggling.

Schnieder of Helixstorm posted ads on Cragslist.com trying to fill his positions but got no response from skilled locals, he said.

The Craigslist ad asks questions like: "Give an example of a sequential access and random access data storage device."

If the candidates don't know the answer, the ad said, they need not apply. So far, Schnieder said, it looks like few will.