According to the latest report by the ONS, there were 2.73 million jobs in retail in June 2025. The latest 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 1.28 million full-time and 1.50 million 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 (BRC), says: “These 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 £5b 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.”
