Retail shrinks by over 360,000 jobs in a decade
The number of retail jobs in the UK has shrunk by more than a tenth since 2015, according to new data.
There were 2.76m jobs in retail in March 2025, 360,000 fewer than in 2015, according to the latest report by the ONS.
The number of full-time jobs has fallen by 117,000 since 2015, while the number of part-time jobs has fallen by 246,000.
A further one in ten jobs are expected to be lost by 2035, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
“Retail jobs are a vital part of the local economy right across the country… [but] more jobs have been lost in retail in a decade than exist across the whole of the fishing, car manufacture and steel-making industries combined,” Helen Dickinson, chief of the BRC, said.
“When we take retail jobs away, we do a disservice to the local communities that rely on them,” Dickinson added.
The sector has been shrinking since the 2008 financial crisis.
Structural changes like the move to online shopping and the shift to experiences – like gyms, hospitality and city breaks – have put high streets in decline.
This shrink has been compounded by high costs, with retailers less able to stomach inflation-led higher business rates and rising wage bills.
The BRC has estimated the sector will face £7bn in higher costs this year from a higher minimum wage, new packaging tax and higher employers’ national insurance contributions.
The cost of employing people for full-time entry-level roles has risen by 10 per cent year on year, while the cost for part-time roles has increased by 13 per cent.
Consumer spending falls
Analysts had expected improved consumer confidence to bring some relief in the second half of this year, but a drop in consumer spending in May has worried the sector.
Consumer card spending grew just one per cent year on year in May, down from April’s 4.5 per cent growth, and below the latest CPIH inflation rate of 3.5 per cent, according to Barclays.
“Consumers are clearly becoming more value-conscious as financial pressures persist,” Karen Johnson, head of retail at Barclays, said.
“Longer-term uncertainty continues to shape how and where people choose to spend,” Johnson added.
Consumer confidence had risen in early May, with Brits’ outlook for personal finances finally moving out of negative territory and similar improvement in how consumers see the coming year’s general economy.
But Sarah Bradbury, CEO of IGD, said that “beneath the surface, confidence remains fragile.”
“Shoppers are still navigating financial uncertainty… While the mood has brightened, we’ve yet to see this translate into meaningful changes in behaviour.
“With the external environment still volatile, shoppers remain cautiously optimistic, but not necessarily ready to spend freely.”