Around one third of UK retail businesses intend to scale back the amount of staff they hire, in an attempt to curtail the effect of the National Living Wage, which was introduced in April.
The Guardian reports that, according to a survey of 2,100 retail employers carried out by recruitment firm Manpower, many are restricting the amount of new staff that they plan to take on, due to the effect that increased wages are having on the bottom line.
The cost of the Living Wage to UK retailers has caused the biggest drop in optimism about their hiring intentions since 2011, according to James Hick of Manpower.
He also mentioned that the uncertainty surrounding the EU referendum is putting retailers off advertising new jobs, as businesses fear the effect that a Brexit will have on trade.
Speaking to The Guardian, Hick added, “Britain added 404,000 jobs in the last 12 months alone, and despite the uncertainties of [a] Brexit, employers tell us they still need more workers.
“Make no mistake about the vital contribution EU workers make to Britain. There are currently 2.2 million people from the EU working in the UK, but not all of them will stay here in the long term, and we need the opportunity to replace the skills they bring."
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by John Golden. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
