L.A. employers say they plan to step up hiring during the second quarter, according to a survey released Tuesday morning from Manpower Inc.

The Milwaukee staffing giant’s quarterly survey of employers in Los Angeles and Orange counties found that 20 percent plan to increase staff, 5 percent plan layoffs and 70 percent plan to keep staffing levels constant.

The hiring figure is an increase from three months ago, when 15 percent of employers planned to hire more workers in the first quarter. But it’s down from 23 percent a year ago.

The percentage of L.A. area employers who said they planned layoffs was down slightly from three months ago, when 6 percent said they planned to decrease staff levels.

That helped push the net employment outlook (percent of employers planning to hire workers minus the percent planning layoffs) to 15 percent, up from 9 percent for the first quarter outlook.

The percentage of Los Angeles employers who said they planned to add staff was slightly lower than the national average of 22 percent, while the percentage saying they planned layoffs was slightly higher than the national average of 4 percent.

For the second quarter, local job prospects appear best for construction, nondurable goods manufacturing, transportation/utilities and education/health services. Employers in the retail and professional/business services sectors plan to reduce staffing levels.