Online job ads rose by 217,900 in December, dwarfing the average monthly increase of 51,000 jobs in 2012, according to The Conference Board’s report on online jobs ads released today. The number of online job ads totaled more the 4.9 million in December. However, despite December’s gain, growth in online job ads was weaker in the second half of 2012 than the first half.

“Labor demand rose across the nation in December, with the largest gain in the Northeast,” said June Shelp, vice president at The Conference Board. “The Northeast gain of 75,000 was good news after the drop in ads last month from the effects of Hurricane Sandy that impacted states from Virginia to Massachusetts. All in all, 2012 and 2011 ended with the same average monthly gain of about 50,000, with the first six months of the year significantly stronger than the last half.”

The construction and sales sector continued to build steam in 2012, while the demand for production and food preparation workers softened.