The longtime phenomenon of slower hiring in the first quarter of the year is reflected in the latest hiring survey by staffing firm Manpower of Dayton Inc.

Among Dayton-area employers who participated in Manpower’s latest hiring survey, 14 percent plan to increase staff levels while 10 percent plan to cut employees in the first quarter of 2013, the January-to-March quarter. Six percent weren’t sure of their plans, the survey found.

That’s down slightly from the fourth quarter of 2012, traditionally a strong hiring quarter buoyed by holiday spending. In the fourth quarter this year, 18 percent of firms intended to hire while only six percent were looking at employee cuts, according to the Manpower survey.

While the new numbers are down from the previous quarter, they are up compared to the first quarter of 2012, noted Tom Maher, president and chief executive of Manpower of Dayton. The “net employment outlook” is up four percent — the percentage difference between firms planning to hire and those planning to cut, the survey found. A year ago, the net outlook was a minus four percent.

“Compared to where we were a year ago, it’s significantly better,” Maher said.

A year ago, 11 percent of Dayton-area employers taking part in the survey thought they would add employees while 15 percent were planning to make cuts.

Maher said that the final quarter of the year usually is boosted by retail and construction hiring prospects.

The most recent numbers “are not as good as in Q4 (the fourth quarter),” Maher said. “But it’s never as good as it was in Q4.”

The least promising hiring sectors include education and government jobs, while the hottest sectors for hiring continue to be manufacturing, finance and professional services, Maher said.

Maher could not say how many firms participated in the survey.

Nationally, of the more than 18,000 U.S. employers surveyed, 17 percent plan to add to their workforces while 8 percent plan payroll cuts, Manpower said.