High Street bosses warned firms are being ‘taxed out’ as jobs in the retail sector hit a record low.
Retailers sounded the alarm after figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed there were 2.78m jobs in the industry in June – down 97,000 on a year earlier. Nearly 400,000 retail jobs have been lost in the past decade.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) warned that ‘worse could be yet to come’, while trade body UK Hospitality said pubs, restaurants and other venues were also struggling.
Shops were hit by £7billion in higher costs by the Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget last year and are fearful of further tax hikes at the next one on November 26.
Bosses have also criticised Labour’s package of reforms to employment rights, saying it will make it harder to employ young people.
Tesco, Morrisons and Currys are among the major retailers to axe jobs following last year’s increases to employer National Insurance, the National Minimum Wage, business rates and packaging taxes.
Squeezed: Fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed there were 2.78m retail industry jobs in June – down 97,000 on a year earlier
And retailers including fashion brands Quiz, Seraphine and accessories seller Claire’s have collapsed.
The hospitality industry is also suffering, with 84,000 jobs lost in the sector since the Budget, according to UK Hospitality.
The group’s boss Kate Nicholls said: ‘Hospitality is being taxed out and the sheer scale of cost increases hitting the sector is forcing businesses to make tough decisions to cut jobs, raise prices, slash investment and reduce hours.’
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said the jobs figures were a ‘stark warning’ to Reeves ahead of the Budget – and proof higher costs already imposed by the Chancellor are ‘hitting retail employment hard’.
She said: ‘And worse could be yet to come, with the Employment Rights Bill having a materially negative impact on employment according to the OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility), and the threat of further cost rises at the Autumn Budget looming large.’
The combination of these changes would ‘drive up prices and hold back retail employment’, she warned, adding: ‘It is vital that the 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.’
Her remarks came a day after the boss of Aldi UK, Giles Hurley, warned Reeves that further tax hikes could translate into higher food prices for shoppers.
Hurley said: ‘Any policies which affect the operating costs of business should be considered very, very carefully.’
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