According to the latest report by the ONS there were 2.73m jobs
in retail in June 2025. The four-quarter average, which smooths
out the seasonal variations in hiring, was 2.78m jobs in
June 2025, 97,000 fewer than at the same point last
year, and 393,000 fewer than in 2015.
On a four-quarter average there were 1.28m full-time and 1.50m
part-time jobs. The number of full-time jobs is down 133,000 on a
decade ago. Meanwhile, the number of part-time jobs is down
258,000 over the same period.
Commenting on these figures, Helen Dickinson, Chief
Executive at the British Retail Consortium, said:
“Today's figures are a stark warning: retail jobs have plunged to
a record low with 97,000 jobs lost over the last year, and almost
400,000 lost over the last decade. The rising cost of NICs and
NLW, together costing the industry over £5 billion this year, are
hitting retail employment hard. And worse could be yet to come,
with the Employment Rights Bill having a “materially negative
impact on employment” according to the OBR, and the threat of
further cost rises at the Autumn Budget looming large.
“As costs mount on the industry, retail jobs are falling by the
wayside. Whether it is the additional complexity wrought by the
Employment Rights Bill, or a new surtax on large retail premises,
the impact of these policies will be to drive up prices and hold
back retail employment. It vital that the Chancellor's Autumn
Budget does not increase costs to the high street further, or
else it will be working people who will pay the price as local,
flexible jobs are lost, and the cost of living continues to
rise.”
-ENDS-
ONS jobs figures are reached by adding “Retail trade, except
of motor vehicles and motorcycles” of:
-
Jobs03: Employee jobs by
industry
-
Jobs04: Self-employment by
industry
Jobs03 data goes back to 1978, while Jobs04 data only goes back
to 1996. This means Total figures (and records) only go from
1996.
