Online advertised job ads fell by 77,800 in October to approximately 4.74 million, according to The Conference Board help wanted online data series released today. The average monthly increase for 2012 is 41,000 per month, with over half of the gain in the first quarter.

“The average labor demand for the last five months (since May 2012) is neither up nor down but basically flat,” said June Shelp, vice president at The Conference Board. Nationally, the gains and losses over the last five months netted out to a very weak average of about 4,000 per month.