Job vacancies advertised online rose by 255,000 to 3,642,000 in December, according to the Conference Board Help Wanted Online Data Series, released today.

In the South, December vacancies rose by 120,400, reflecting increases in all of the most populous Southern states. Oklahoma increased by 8,200, while Texas lead the pack with an increase of 22,100.

Nationally, growth in job demand has been mildly positive since the low point in April 2009, with an average monthly increase of less than 60,000.

The 2009 annual average stands at 3,357,000, a figure that is 1.1 million below the 4,481,000 annual average for 2008 and 1.3 million below the average for 2007.

"Employers' modest increase in demand for labor in the second half of 2009 is a nice way to end what has been a very challenging year," said Gad Levanon, senior economist at the Conference Board. "The gap between the number of unemployed and the number of advertised vacancies is still very high, but the recent six months indicate that things are slowly moving in the right direction."