Nineteen percent of hiring managers plan to hire more summer staff this year, up from 9 percent in 2012, according to the sixth-annual summer jobs survey by Snagajob, a job portal for hourly workers. The number of hiring managers who don’t plan to make any summer hires fell to 31 percent this year compared to 45 percent last year.

Hiring managers expanding their summer payrolls plan to hire an average of 30 seasonal workers, up from 27 last year. And hourly wages are expected to increase for the first time in two years: to $11.50 from $10.90 in 2012.

“The economy has added jobs for the past four consecutive months, and it appears that hiring managers see that growth continuing into the summer,” said Jason Hamilton, vice president of marketing for Snagajob. “Companies that are hiring are expecting to bring on more staff and offer higher wages, so this should be the best summer for hourly workers we’ve seen in several years.”

IPSOS Public Affairs, on behalf of Snagajob, conducted the online survey of 1,005 hourly hiring managers between Feb. 28 and March 6, 2013.