The latest BRC employment figures revealed that the industry experienced the 14th consecutive quarter of year-on-year decline in its workforce, with a further 72,000 jobs being lost across the sector.

The figures showed that in the second quarter of the year, the total number of employees overall fell by 2.3%. Full-time employees saw a higher reduction in jobs of 3%, with part-time employee roles falling by 2%.

Total employment hours fell 2.5% with full-time hours seeing a slightly higher reduction of 2.7% against 2.3% for part-time employees.