BRC: Christmas Fails to Halt Declining Job Numbers

Data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) reveals an estimated 70,000 retail jobs were lost last year.  Not even the Christmas season was able to slow the decline in demand for retail workers as shoppers stayed away from the high streets.

Top line figures from the BRC: 

• HOURS WORKED - 2.8% (Q4 % change on a year ago)

• NUMBER OF STORES 2.3% (Q4 % change on a year ago)

• HOURS WORKED Q4 - OCTOBER -2.4% (Month % change on a year ago)

• HOURS WORKED Q4 - NOVEMBER -3.2% (Month % change on a year ago) 

• HOURS WORKED Q4 - DECEMBER -2.9% (Month % change on a year ago)

Helen Dickinson OBE, Chief Executive, British Retail Consortium:

“The retail industry is undergoing a profound change and the latest employment data underpins those trends. Technology is changing both the way consumers shop, but also the types of jobs that exist in retail. While we expect the number of frontline staff to fall over the next decade, there will many new jobs created in areas such as digital marketing and AI.

“However, this transformation comes at a cost for retailers, who are already weighed down by the increasing costs of public policy, from sky high business rates to rising minimum wage. To support this investment in the future of retail, Government needs to play its part, reforming the broken business rates system to ensure it is fit for the 21st century.”

Source : Insight DIY Team

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