Fifth of UK retailers plan to axe jobs in the next three months
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New research has found that almost a fifth of UK retailers are planning to cut staff in the next three months.
The research by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) found that the number of people employed in the UK retail sector had fallen by nearly 3% in the last three months. Redundancies were found to be three times higher than at this point last year.
A loss of retail jobs is seen as particularly bad for women, who make up 70% of the UK’s retail workforce.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive at the BRC, said: “Retailers are continuing to reduce labour requirements to support a reinvention in how retail and shopping works.”
Retailers are said to be concerned about the current retail climate despite increased footfall brought on by the World Cup and recent hot weather. Recent increases in business rates, reduced overall footfall and the rise of the online retailer are blamed for bricks and mortar retailers looking to cut costs.
The news comes a day after the BRC welcomed am inquiry into card-acquiring systems.
