Employer labor demand remains stalled at the December 2012 level, according to The Conference Board. U.S. online job ads rose by 86,800 in August to a total of approximately 4.97 million, according to The Conference Board’s report on online jobs ads released today. However, the modest gain was not enough to offset earlier months' losses, leaving labor demand basically where it was eight months ago.

“This has not been a great year for labor demand,” said June Shelp, vice president of The Conference Board. “While the churn in the labor market is there (with almost 5 million jobs advertised each month), the end results are disappointing. Thus far in 2013, 10 of the 22 major occupational categories are down, offsetting increases in the 12 other groups.”