Retail job cuts signalled by business group

25/02/2009

Employment conditions in the retail sector continue to worsen, stark new figures from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) have revealed.

According to the business group, 49 per cent more retailers said that they had cut their workforce over the past year, compared to the number who said they had not.

This is the sharpest decline since the CBI began taking the survey in 1983.

Over half (52 per cent) also said that sales had dropped last month, suggesting that more job cuts could be on the way.

The credit crunch and recession has put pressure on many firms' balance sheets, with unemployment shooting up to an 11-year high of 1.97 million in latest government data.

Andy Clarke, chairman of the CBI distributive trades panel, said: "February was another tough month and sadly many retailers are cutting jobs as shoppers stay away and the recession deepens.

"But conditions were not quite as harsh as they were last month and in the run up to Christmas."

Tags; Job loss, Recent Graduate Debt,

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