More than 169,000 retail jobs axed in 2024 as high street continues to struggle
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The retail sector faced a challenging year in 2024, with almost 170,000 workers losing their jobs, data reveals. The Centre for Retail Research's end-of-year figures indicate a significant spike in job losses following the downfall of big names like Homebase and Ted Baker. The analysis shows that 169,395 retail jobs vanished over the calendar year, marking a 41.9% increase from the previous year, with 49,990 more jobs lost compared to 2023.
This is the most severe annual loss since 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic led to over 200,000 job cuts as lockdowns forced store closures. In 2024, 38 major retailers, including Lloyds Pharmacy, Homebase, The Body Shop, Carpetright, and Ted Baker, collapsed into administration, accounting for 33%, or 55,914, of all retail job losses.
The remaining positions were shed through "rationalisation" involving cost-cutting by large chains or small independent shops shutting down permanently. Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the Centre for Retail Research, commented on the situation, saying: "The comparatively low figures for 2023 now look like an anomaly, a pause for breath by many retailers after lockdowns if you like.
"The problems of changed customer shopping habits, inflation, rising energy costs, rents and business rates have continued and forced many retailers to cut back even more strongly in 2024.". Independent retailers, often small businesses with between one and five stores, have been hit hard, shedding 58,616 jobs over the year. Experts are now warning that small high street shops could be facing an uphill battle in 2025 due to tax and wage changes announced in the Budget.
