The number of employees increased by 260-thousand from a year ago in December but the nation saw real wages from last January to November decrease by zero-point-nine percent.

According to the results of the business labor force survey for last December announced by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on Tuesday, the number of workers in businesses with at least one employee as of the end of last month came to 19-million-823-thousand, up one-point-three percent on year.

The number of regular workers increased by 172-thousand, while the number of temporary daily workers increased by 76-thousand.

As of last November, the average monthly wage per worker was three-million-714-thousand won, or two-thousand-793 U.S. dollars, an on-year spike of three-point-six percent.

Considering inflation, however, real wages reflecting the purchasing power was equivalent to three-million-519-thousand won, or two-thousand-646 U.S. dollars, a zero-point-nine-percent decrease from the same period the previous year.