Retail employment down 2.2% in final quarter of 2018
New figures from the British Retail Consortium have shown that retail employment was down 2.2% in the fourth quarter of 2018.
The fall equated to 70,000 jobs according to BRC data.
Furthermore, the total number of job hours dropped by 2.8% year-on-year. Full time hours declined by 2.9% while part time hours fell by 2.8%.
In addition, the BRC found that 29% of retailers surveyed said they plan to reduce staff numbers in the coming quarter although more companies than in the previous year’s survey said they planned to increase staffing levels.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “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 be many new jobs created in areas such as digital marketinga and AI.”
