Breakfast briefing: Retail news on UK store closures and Scottish retail sales

Store closure results in 3% fall in retail jobs

Retail jobs in the UK have seen a 3% fall in the quarter to September owing to a reduction in the number of stores according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), The Belfast Telegraph reports.

There was a 1.2% reduction in the number of stores that coincided with the fall in the number of full-time job positions.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: "This is the third consecutive quarter in which full-time equivalent employment among retailers has fallen, and the decline appears to be accelerating quarter-on-quarter as they seek productivity gains in a highly competitive market.

"While both food and non-food retailers saw a fall, the decline is most marked in food,” she added.

Scottish retail sales increase 2.1%

Retail sales in Scotland increased 2.1% quarter-on-quarter, the Herald Scotland reports.

According to the figures provided by the Scottish government, third-quarter growth in sales was achieved by small, medium and large retailers.

The sales of small and medium-sized retailers grew 2.8% quarter-on-quarter and large retailers achieved 1.5% increase.