BRC warns of decline in retail jobs market for the UK
THE British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned that the UK faces a “jobless generation” as employment in the retail sector takes a plunge.
According to new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), there were 2.86million jobs in retail by December 2025.
Examining the four-quarter average, which the ONS uses to smooth out seasonal hiring opportunity such as extra staff at Christmas and find a more accurate average figure, the number sat at 2.81million which was 68,000 fewer than in 2024.
Furthermore, this number for 2025 was a substantial fall of 383,000 members of staff when compared to 2015 making last year the lowest figure on record for the four-quarter average.
Breaking the 2025 figure down further, the ONS found that there were 1.28million full-time employees in the retail sector, with 1.52million part-time jobs. This reflected declines of 140,000 compared to a decade ago for full-time employment and 242,000 for part-time staff over the same time period.
This result comes a year after the UK Government’s 2024 Autumn Budget which announced changes to National Insurance contributions from employers and increases across National Living Wage and Minimum wage thresholds. At the time, members of the retail sector warned the move would costs jobs across the space.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive at the BRC, said: “People everywhere are struggling to find jobs, youth employment is falling faster still, and the UK faces the prospect of a jobless generation.
“The loss of almost 400,000 retail jobs over the past decade is the loss of hundreds of thousands of opportunities for young people to start earning for themselves, and for older people to return to the workforce.
“One in five people had their first job in retail, yet this vital step on the career ladder is cracking under the high costs of employment. In 2025 alone, the cost of employing a full-time entry-level worker rose by 10%, while part-time employment rose by over 13%.
“The Government clearly recognises the scale of the challenge, and we welcome the expansion of the Youth Guarantee to open up more opportunities for young people.
“Seventy per cent of young people say that flexibility is important at work, but this flexibility is now under threat from how the Employment Rights Act is implemented.
“Poorly designed changes to guaranteed hours could make it harder – not easier – for businesses to offer part‑time work, discouraging employers from creating the very roles young people, students, parents and carers all rely on.
“As Government consults on the Act, the priority must be clear: protect workers and protect job creation. The goal should be to tackle bad practice without making recruitment more complex, risky or expensive – especially at a time when the country urgently needs more routes into work.”
