According to the latest report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the number of jobs in the retail sector reached 2.86 million in December 2025.
To provide a clearer picture of employment trends, the report highlights the four-quarter average, which smooths out seasonal fluctuations in hiring.
This average for 2025 was calculated at 2.81 million jobs, reflecting a decline of 68,000 jobs from the 2024 average.
Furthermore, this number represents a significant drop of 383,000 jobs from the average recorded in 2015, marking the lowest four-quarter average in retail employment history.
Delving deeper into the employment figures, the four-quarter average indicates that the retail sector included approximately 1.28 million full-time positions and 1.52 million part-time positions in 2025.
This differentiation is crucial, as it showcases the varying levels of commitment and stability associated with these types of jobs.
Over the past decade, the number of full-time retail jobs has decreased by 140,000, suggesting a troubling trend towards more unstable employment options. Moreover, the number of part-time positions has declined by 242,000 in the same period.
These figures reflect the evolving landscape of retail employment, characterised by fewer job opportunities and shifting work structures.
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive at the British Retail Consortium, said: “People everywhere are struggling to find jobs, youth employment is falling faster still, and the UK faces the prospect of a jobless generation. The loss of almost 400,000 retail jobs over the past decade is the loss of hundreds of thousands of opportunities for young people to start earning for themselves, and for older people to return to the workforce.
“One in five people had their first job in retail, yet this vital step on the career ladder is cracking under the high costs of employment. In 2025 alone, the cost of employing a full-time entry-level worker rose by 10%, while part-time employment rose by over 13%. The Government clearly recognises the scale of the challenge, and we welcome the expansion of the Youth Guarantee to open up more opportunities for young people.
“Seventy per cent of young people say that flexibility is important at work, but this flexibility is now under threat from how the Employment Rights Act is implemented. Poorly designed changes to guaranteed hours could make it harder – not easier – for businesses to offer part‑time work, discouraging employers from creating the very roles young people, students, parents and carers all rely on. As Government consults on the Act, the priority must be clear: protect workers and protect job creation. The goal should be to tackle bad practice without making recruitment more complex, risky or expensive – especially at a time when the country urgently needs more routes into work.”
