BRC says government neglecting retail employment to support other industries

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) wants the government to do more to support dwindling retail employment. The body has highlighted growing threats while claiming the government is neglecting the industry while “go[ing] out of its way to support fishing, steel manufacture and the automotive industry [jobs]”.

Noting that employment numbers in the retail industry has already plummeted by 351,000 since 2015,  a new BRC report, Retail Employment in 2025, cites a fall in retail jobs nearly 10 times bigger than the total number of jobs in the steel industry.
 
The BRC said retail is having to manage ever-increasing tax, cost and regulatory burdens including rises in employer National Insurance (£2.4 billion), and National Living Wage (an extra £2.7 billion) since April.

Since then, the cost of employing an entry level full-time worker rose by 10.3%, while the cost of employing someone part-time rose by 13.5%, it noted.

Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive at the British Retail Consortium, said: “While factory closures are met by promises of action, the wave of retail jobs losses has been met with indifference from policymakers. 

“UK retail is world-leading, innovative, and a major contributor to the UK economy, yet the stranglehold of increasing costs, taxes and red tape risks undermining the very things Government is seeking to create: local investment, growth, and increasing the numbers of people in work.
 
“Retailers face uncertainty around the new Growth and Skills Levy, on the outcome of the business rates reforms and on implementation of the Employment Rights Bill which could make it more difficult to offer flexible part-time roles or re-skilling people. Reducing part-time and training opportunities in retail would not only be a loss to the industry, the UK’s largest private sector employer, but would also punish millions of people who benefit from these flexible, local jobs.”
 
She said the BRC estimates 160,000 part-time roles – more than one-in-10 – in the industry are currently at risk from being lost in the next three years. And she added: “But there is another way. If Government can ensure future policies do not hold back recruitment and training, then they will reap the benefits through more jobs and better productivity. The Employment Rights Bill is the next big test: government must tackle unscrupulous employers without hampering employment opportunities offered by responsible businesses.”