Thousands of retail workers have lost their jobs. Why is Government ignoring them?

Retail and wholesale employment fell by 1.7 per cent in December, with 72,000 fewer people in work compared to the same period last year. Vacancies dropped 6.2 per cent year on year. These aren't just statistics - they represent hard-working people losing their livelihoods.

What makes this particularly galling is the government's response to struggling sectors. The Chancellor has chosen to direct business rates relief exclusively to pubs, whilst ignoring retail entirely. This might make political sense if hospitality were the bigger employer. But it isn't. Not even close.

Retail and wholesale employ 4.2 million people, accounting for 13.9 per cent of all payrolled workers in the UK. Hospitality employs 2.1 million. Retail is nearly twice the size. If we genuinely care about protecting jobs, especially for younger workers who disproportionately work in retail, the current policy makes no sense whatsoever.

The sector is under immense pressure. Independent retailers are facing a perfect storm of rising costs, punitive business rates, and falling consumer confidence. Plus, unlike pubs, retail has to deal with retail crime and compete with the online giants. These latest figures show that pressure is translating into job losses on a significant scale. When the largest employment sector in the country sheds 72,000 jobs in a year, that should trigger urgent policy action, not indifference.

Ironically, retail workers are also seeing the highest wage growth of any sector - 5.9 per cent according to the same ONS data. That should be good news, but it adds further cost pressure on businesses already struggling with soaring overheads. Many independent retailers want to pay their staff well, but they need support to make that sustainable.

Business rates remain the biggest fixed cost burden for most retailers. Unlike other business expenses, rates must be paid regardless of whether you're trading profitably or barely surviving. For high street shops competing with online retailers who pay a fraction of the rates bill, this creates an impossible disadvantage.

The government talks about revitalising high streets and supporting local communities. But high streets don't exist without the shops that line them, and those shops don't survive without viable business models. Every empty unit represents not just a failed business but also lost jobs, reduced footfall, and diminished local services. Let's also be clear about this government's financial support for high streets. In 2024, business rates support was worth £2.5bn. In 2025 this was reduced to £1.4bn. This year, it will fall to £900m - a 64 per cent reduction in support for the high street, the bulk of which will be felt by retail.

We're not asking for special treatment. We're asking for fair treatment. If the Chancellor believes business rates relief is justified for pubs facing difficult conditions, that same logic should extend to retail, which employs twice as many people and is shedding jobs at an alarming rate.

These employment figures are a warning. The government can either act now to support a sector that employs over four million people, or watch more jobs disappear whilst directing help elsewhere. The choice should be obvious.

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Andrew Goodacre is CEO of the British Independent Retailers Association (Bira).

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