Retail employment figures: What retailers need to know

Why are we talking about this now?

New retail staffing figures were released last week that showed employment in the sector increased 0.6% in the last quarter of 2012, according to the British Retail Consortium-Bond Pearce Retail Employment Monitor. The run-up to Christmas is a time when many retailers add workers to their teams in preparation for the busy period.

Does this signal an upturn in retail employment levels?

Unfortunately not. Of those retailers questioned for the monitor, half said they intend to decrease staffing levels in the first quarter of this year, compared with last year when just a third said they intended to cut jobs.

While retailers will always reassess their staffing needs after the Christmas rush, the big year-on-year jump suggests retailers are feeling the squeeze. Bond Pearce head of retail employment Christina Tolvas-Vincent says the sharp increase reflects the “stark reality” retailers are facing.

In the first quarter, 46% of retailers plan to keep staffing levels unchanged compared with 54% last year.

“It is hard to believe that retail employment will remain robust for long under such pressure,” says Tolvas-Vincent.

What jobs were retailers offering in the fourth quarter?

The number of hours worked by full-time employees was actually down year on year in the fourth quarter, meaning the increase in jobs in the period was driven completely by part-time roles, reflecting retailers’ caution over the trading environment. 

Food retailers in particular increased the number of hours worked by part-time staff, signalling they contributed most to pushing up employment levels.

What about store numbers?

Store numbers dropped 3.6% in the final quarter of 2012 and the trend is likely to continue into this quarter after the administration of Jessops and the subsequent closure of its 192-strong store estate. Collapsed Blockbuster is closing 129 stores, and HMV’s demise could also result in store closures.

Tolvas-Vincent says: “After a lacklustre Christmas, the new year has started badly for retailers – well publicised failures such as Blockbusters, HMV and Jessops have yet again placed the spotlight on the struggling high street. This will have an even greater impact on store numbers that are already falling at the fastest rate for more than four years.”