High Street sheds 225,000 jobs in just five years: Reeves urged to reform business rates to arrest decline
High Street sheds 225,000 jobs in just five years: Reeves urged to reform business rates to arrest decline
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Rachel Reeves is under mounting pressure to reform business rates as figures show 225,000 High Street jobs have been lost over the past five years. The number employed in retail has fallen from 3.1m to less than 2.9m since 2019, according to analysis of official data by the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
And a survey by the Institute of Directors (IoD) found that for the economy as a whole, hiring intentions are at their lowest level since the height of the pandemic in 2020 following Labour’s raid on employer national insurance (NI). Retailers are suffering both from the NI raid – which they say will cost them £7billion next year and breached the Labour manifesto – and a business rates system they argue is in desperate need of reform.
At the same time, they are being hit by increases in the minimum wage. The BRC argues that without changes to the business rates system, even more jobs will be lost. The issue has been highlighted by the Mail’s Save Our High Streets campaign. Before the Budget, bosses had called on the Chancellor to extend Covid-era relief schemes. Instead, rates relief for hospitality and retail businesses was cut to 40%.
Retailers including Currys and Primark have already warned that increases in staff costs mean they will increasingly turn to automation. BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: ‘The Government’s promised reforms of business rates give it a lever to protect future investment and it is vital they ensure no shop pays more as a result of these reforms.
