Retail has lost 10 times the number of jobs as the steel industry but seen the government “do nothing” to intervene, a new report by the BRC has claimed.
The report claims retailers have shed more than 350,000 jobs since 2015, a fall nearly 10 times that of the total number of workers employed in the steel industry.
However, whereas ministers have made repeated interventions to prevent factory closures and save British jobs, the consortium said they had been hammering its sector with an avalanche of extra costs. This came from legislation such as the increase to National Insurance and the incoming EPR packaging taxes, the BRC said.
The report claims that the “disproportionate” impact on part-time workers, mainly as a result of the changing employer National Insurance minimum threshold, has meant that many flexible jobs are now at risk. The BRC estimated that up to 160,000 part-time roles – more than one in 10 – could be lost in the next three years.
A survey of over 50 retail CFOs and financial directors at leading retailers (together employing around 500,000 retail staff) estimates two-thirds of retailers expect the changes to National Insurance contributions to force them to raise prices in response. The BRC has predicted a” surge” of inflation in the autumn, estimating it will hit 5% by the end of 2025, as retailers try to keep up with rising operational costs.
Today’s report said there were some opportunities on the horizon despite the government’s lacklustre efforts. These included the new Growth and Skills Levy, replacing the “broken” Apprenticeship Levy, which it said could help retail businesses unlock more investment in local communities.
But the BRC urged the government to do much more to reduce the burden of regulation on the sector to support growth.
“Over 350,000 retail jobs have been lost over the last nine years – more than is employed by the fishing, car production and steel manufacturing industries combined,” said BRC CEO Helen Dickinson.
“Yet, 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.”
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