Food retail employment continues to fall
The equivalent number of full-time jobs in retail slipped by 0.1% in the first quarter of 2015 compared with the same period last year.
Figures released by the British Retail Consortium and business law firm Bond Dickinson in their Retail Employment Monitor show that food retailers cut back on the number of hours worked year-on-year for the 17th consecutive month in the period.
Meanwhile, the equivalent number of full-time employees in non-food retail rose in the quarter to continue a steady increase in investment in jobs.
BRC director general Helen Dickinson said: “The equivalent number of full-time jobs remained more or less static in March with a slight fall of 0.1% recorded when compared with the same period last year.
“More conspicuous was how employment in non-food retail continued to recover. Not only were more hours worked across the industry but more people were working in an industry that’s busy meeting higher levels of demand. This performance is a result of an increasingly benign economic environment and a further sign that retailers feel more confident about investing for the future. That’s to be welcomed after an extremely tough trading period in recent years.”
During the quarter, the number of outlets rose by 1.8% with both food and non-food retailers contributing to the overall increase in the number of stores.
The figures also show that 12% of retailers intend to increase staffing levels in the next three months while 20% said they intend to decrease staffing levels. Some 68% of retailers polled said they will keep staffing levels unchanged.
Christina Tolvas-Vincent, head of retail employment at Bond Dickinson, said: “Recovery in the retail sector is lagging behind the UK labour market due to the immense challenges grocers in particular are facing, from food inflation to changes in consumer shopping behaviour and continued budgetary pressure on households. There are encouraging signs with the small rises in jobs and stores in March however.
“In a squeezed retail market with intense competition and tight margins, keeping employees happy and loyal is even more important, and at the same time much harder. Retailers have to ensure they stay on top of a raft of rapidly changing employment rules, whilst managing their large workforces as efficiently as possible.”
