The latest ONS figures reveal the retail industry – one of the largest private employers in the country – lost 79,000 jobs between January and March 2019 year on year.

Overall the UK gained 589,000 jobs, a 1.7% increase compared to a 2.5% decline in the retail sector, which employed 3.1 million people during the period.

The number of jobs in the sector has been in decline for four consecutive quarters.

BRC head of retail insight and analytics Kyle Monk said: “It has been a turbulent year with many well-known brands disappearing from our high streets, as has been evidenced by the substantial loss in retail jobs this quarter. Political and economic uncertainty has compounded many of the challenges created by the pace of technological change.”