The UK’s struggling high streets have lost nearly 170,000 retail jobs this year – the biggest annual toll since pandemic lockdowns in 2020 – as stores face higher taxes, rising costs and weak consumer spending.
Figures from Altus Group and the Center for Retail Research (CRR) reveal a 42 per cent jump in job losses compared to 2023, taking the total to 169,395 so far this year.
Senior management at The Body Shop, Ted Baker, Homebase, Carpetright and Lloyds Pharmacy underscores the growing pressures on retailers. According to CRR director Joshua Bamfield, government caution about the economy has led to a further decline in consumer confidence, forcing households to tighten their budgets.
Retailers are preparing for a difficult 2025, with more than 200,000 additional job losses expected. Two looming measures – a cut in business rates relief and a sharp rise in employers’ National Insurance contributions – threaten to hit the industry with a double whammy in the spring.
Altus Group estimates that retailers’ annual business rates will rise by £688 million when the current 75 per cent discount falls to 40 per cent, while consultant Rachel Reeves plans to raise NICs for employers from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent. , and lower the threshold. To £5,000, which adds more pressure. Bamfield warns that part-time workers, who make up half of the retail workforce, will bear much of the impact.
Latest data from the Office for National Statistics shows that 3.6 million people are currently working in retail, wholesale and car repair trade, down from more than 4 million in 2019. Retail sales volumes in November were still 1.6 per cent below pre-pandemic levels, declining Christmas footfall is up about 5 percent compared to the same day last year, according to the MRI program.
The Treasury has defended its approach, highlighting that the 40 per cent business rates relief for 250,000 properties will remain in place, with a permanent lower rate set to launch in 2026. It also notes that more than half of employers will see no or no change Reduction in their NIC bill.