In the fourth quarter of 2019, the total number of retail employees fell by 1.8 per cent year-on-year, marking the 16th consecutive quarter of year-on-year decline in the retail workforce.

According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), this decline in retail employees year-on-year, when applied to the Office for National Statistics fourth quarter 2018 figure of 3,183,000 employees, equates to 57,000 job losses since then.

The report noted that full-time employment fell by three per cent, while part-time employment fell by 1.2 per cent.

At 0.2 per cent, store growth was the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2016, and below the 2018 comparable figure of 2.3 per cent.

Meanwhile, 38 per cent of retailers planned on hiring fewer employees in the coming quarter, compared to 29 per cent the previous year; although much of this is due to inflated workforces to cope with the Golden Quarter retail rush.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said that following the figures showing 2019 to be the worst year on record for retail sales growth, these figures come as no surprise.

“There were many challenges in 2019: businesses had to contend with the repeated risk of no deal Brexit, a general election and the ongoing transformation of the industry, leading to weak consumer demand.

“As a result, employment has suffered in retail, the UK’s largest private sector employer,” she continued. “This matters, as retail offers many people their first job, a range of flexible working options, and huge opportunities for progression.”

Dickinson blamed the current inflexibility in the Apprenticeship Levy system for the fact that much essential training is not covered, limiting the opportunities for many working in the industry.

“Moreover, it is worrying that the government is standing by while tens of thousands of jobs are being lost – if the same was true in manufacturing or aviation, one can be sure that the government would act.”

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