Almost 135,000 retail jobs lost during pandemic
A new study has shown that nearly 135,000 traditional retail jobs were lost during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The analysis of ONS figures by the GMB union reveal that there were an estimated 1.2 million sales and retail assistants, retail cashiers and check-out operators in 2019, but that this number dropped to just under 1,075,000 by 2021.
The statistics have emerged amid planned Wilko closures across the UK with two stores in Stockton and The Fort in Birmingham due to shut next week.
Andy Prendergast, GMB national secretary, said: “The great British high street is being allowed to wither and die. These are vital businesses that drive our economy and help our communities thrive.”
GMB is calling on councils and landlords to review commercial leases and offer lower rents and also said that the business rates system is archaic and no longer fit for purpose.
Prendergast added: “Empty high streets and shopping centres that look like ghost towns are no good for anyone.”
