The high street suffered the ‘worst year on record’ with the total number of employees falling 1.8 percent year on year. The high street is struggling with factors such as the British Weather, online competition and people wanting to have an experience when shopping.
‘There were many challenges in 2019: Businesses had to contend with the repeated risk of no deal Brexit, a general election and the ongoing transformation of the industry, leading to weak consumer demand. As a result, employment has suffered in retail, the UK’s largest private sector employer. This matters – retail offers many people their first job, a range of flexible working options, and huge opportunities for progression.’ – Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive – British Retail Consortium
