U.S. online job ads rose by 125,600 in December to a total of about 5.3 million, according to The Conference Board’s report on online jobs ads released today. Labor demand in the first half of the year was flat but was more upbeat in the last six months with gains in a number of occupations.

In the June-December time frame, advertised vacancies for workers in the professional category rose by 117,000 after declining by 50,000 in the first half of the year. Advertised vacancies for workers in service jobs rose by 234,000 in the last half of the year following an increase of only 27,000 in the first half of the year.

“These gains have helped whittle the unemployment number as more and more workers found employment,” said June Shelp, vice president of The Conference Board.