Register to get 2 free articles
Reveal the article below by registering for our email newsletter.
Want unlimited access? View Plans
Already have an account? Sign in
The number of full-time retail jobs in the first quarter of 2016 was down 0.9% compared with the same period last year, according to new data released today.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Bond Dickinson’s latest Retail Employment Monitor found that the job decline in the retail sector was its sharpest since the third quarter of 2016.
The number of retail outlets fell by 0.5% compared with the same quarter a year ago, which was lower than the 0.3% fall recorded in the fourth quarter of 2015. However, the monitor said the overall decrease in stores was driven by food retailers.
On a rolling three-month basis food retailers saw a decline in the equivalent number of employees, although equivalent number of full-time employees in non-food retail grew in the first quarter of 2016.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: “These figures confirm that the rate of change within retail is quickening as the digital revolution reshapes the industry, more property leases come up for renewal and the cost of labour goes up, while the cost of technology goes down.
“Our recent Retail 2020 report looks at these factors in detail and shows that they could result in as many as 900,000 fewer jobs in retail by 2025, but those that remain will be more productive and higher earning.”
