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Assaulted from all sides with the news about the cuts to all sectors of the economy and their dire implications to many of us – on a personal and professional level – I was pleasantly surprised (positively cheered up, in fact) this morning reading the British Retail Consortium’s report entitled ‘Jobs growth defies tough economy’.
The report’s summary stated: “In the third quarter of 2010, retail full-time equivalent (FTE) employment was up by 2.1%, compared with the same quarter a year earlier. This is equivalent to a net increase of 12,746 retail jobs. The increase in employment was driven by a 4.2% net increase in the number of stores in the three months to September, compared with the same period last year – an additional 652 retail outlets.”
Moreover, the BRC survey of retailers showed that 61% of them intend to increase staffing levels in the next three months, compared with 54% this time last year. Some 39% of the sample indicated that they would keep staffing levels unchanged. There were no retailers in the sample who were planning to reduce staffing levels in the next three months.
Of course, all such results should be interpreted with caution as they are only a fragment of a very large picture and include many, often contradictory factors. However they are indicative of the retail sector’s fighting spirit – and all the investment which is made in the current difficult conditions. If this is supported by the manufacturers’ efforts – the Sony’s VAT-Back scheme being a good example – the Christmas trading season may lifts spirits of many after all.
Anna Ryland, Editor
