According to the latest report by the ONS there were 2.86 million
jobs in retail in December 2025. The four-quarter average, which
smooths out the seasonal variations in hiring, was 2.81
million jobs for 2025, 68,000 fewer than in 2024, and
383,000 fewer than in 2015. This four-quarter average is the
lowest on record.
Using the four-quarter average, there were 1.28 million full-time
and 1.52 million part-time jobs. The number of full-time jobs was
down 140,000 on a decade ago. Meanwhile, the number of part-time
jobs is down 242,000 over the same period.
Commenting on these figures, Helen Dickinson, Chief
Executive at the British Retail Consortium, said:
“People everywhere are struggling to find jobs, youth employment
is falling faster still, and the UK faces the prospect of a
jobless generation. The loss of almost 400,000 retail jobs over
the past decade is the loss of hundreds of thousands of
opportunities for young people to start earning for themselves,
and for older people to return to the workforce.
“One in five people had their first job in retail, yet this vital
step on the career ladder is cracking under the high costs of
employment. In 2025 alone, the cost of employing a full-time
entry-level worker rose by 10%, while part-time employment rose
by over 13%. The Government clearly recognises the scale of the
challenge, and we welcome the expansion of the Youth Guarantee to
open up more opportunities for young people.
“Seventy per cent of young people say that flexibility is
important at work, but this flexibility is now under threat from
how the Employment Rights Act is implemented. Poorly designed
changes to guaranteed hours could make it harder – not easier –
for businesses to offer part‑time work, discouraging employers
from creating the very roles young people, students, parents and
carers all rely on. As Government consults on the Act, the
priority must be clear: protect workers and
protect job creation. The goal should be to tackle bad practice
without making recruitment more complex, risky or expensive –
especially at a time when the country urgently needs more routes
into work.”
-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.
Any discrepancies with the figures the BRC published last quarter
are due to revisions of previous data made by the ONS.
