Hundreds of jobs created in  shops across Leeds  before coronavirus pandemic despite fears for future of the High Street

Calls for the Government to step up efforts to create a long-term retail strategy have intensified in the wake of the recent collapse of major high street brands Debenhams and the Arcadia Group, which includes Topshop.

But analysis by the JPIMedia Data Unit shows the number of retail jobs had increased in Leeds before the pandemic – although industry bodies warn thousands of positions could disappear next year in the UK if action is not taken now.

Office for National Statistics figures show there were 33,650 employee jobs in physical shops in Leeds in 2019 – an increase of 2,400, or 7.7 per cent, compared to 2015.

These figures exclude jobs in online retail, market stalls, and door-to-door sales, as well as the entire car, motorbike and other motor vehicle retail sector.

But the clothing and footwear sector in Leeds was badly hit – jobs in these specialist shops fell from 6,700 in 2015 to 5,700 in 2019, a drop of 15 per cent.

LeedsBID (Business Improvement District) is running the www.welcometoleeds.co.uk campaign in conjunction with the YEP called to boost consumer confidence when using the city centre.

Andrew Cooper, chief executive of LeedsBID,said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the closures of some retail businesses but those city centres that will be more resilient in the future, will be those like Leeds, which do not solely rely on retail but consider the total mix of use and experience.

" It is vital that all stakeholders come together to reinvent and reposition our town and city centres, giving new thinking to use and the importance of our High Street as the centre point of our communities.

"LeedsBID, a not-for-profit non-political organisation was created to support this aim. Working with The BID Foundation and High Street Task Force, the national conversation has already started about the transformation of our High Street post pandemic and ensuring there is less reliance on the old retail model where ‘success is determined by which brands you do and don’t have on your High Street’.

" In Leeds, what we have seen in recent months are new brands that are investing or expanding in the city centre, a mix of independents and corporate brands, both in retail and leisure.

"Considering the total experience is vital to the future success of our town and city centres.”

Mark Goldstone, head of business representation and policy at West and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “Whilst this data relates to the pre-crisis economy it emphasises the point that Covid has accelerated some trends which we were already seeing and so it does not really come as a surprise that it suggests it’s the type of retail sales which are being replaced by online shopping which saw the greatest decline in job numbers.

"The rise of targeted advertising and digital marketing was already driving changes in shopping behaviour for certain products.

"In addition traditional high street retail faces the challenges of a regressive business rates system which taxes businesses before any profit has been made."

The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) says it “cannot overstate” the scale of the crisis the pandemic has brought about for retailers.

But general secretary Paddy Lillis said “high streets were already suffering” because of the imbalance between bricks and mortar and online retailers.

He added: “This, combined with the direct impact of the pandemic, has been catastrophic, pushing many retailers to breaking point.”

Across England, almost 40,000 jobs disappeared from the retail sector between 2015 and 2019.

The ONS figures reveal significant regional variations in how jobs were holding up prior to the pandemic – while London lost 10.3 per cent of its jobs between 2015 and 2019, the North East saw an increase of 8.3 per cent.

Figures for Great Britain show there has been a shift away from full-time positions toward part-time work, with the former shrinking by 6.6 per cent while the latter swelled by 0.7 per cent.

Earlier this year, we asked you, our readers, to tell us about how you had found life during the pandemic and what changes you might want to make to our communities in the future.

Through our Big Conversation survey on JPI Media websites and papers across the country, more than 80 per cent of you told us that you had been visiting town and city centres much less in 2020.

At the same time, 50 per cent of you said going shopping was something you were not completely comfortable with following the pandemic – but more than 60% said that Christmas was the time to make sure we all support our local shops and businesses.

The British Retail Consortium, a trade association representing UK retailers, says firms are working hard to make Christmas a success but that if sales do not recover over the period we “could see many jobs disappearing in the new year”.

Tom Ironside, director of business and regulation, said: “Much will depend on the future of business rates and extended relief will be essential for many firms who have been struggling under months of forced closures”.

Usdaw echoed the call for action on business rates – a tax on non-domestic properties set by central government – adding the Government must intervene with a long-term plan to get the retail industry back on its feet.

It also called for an onlines sales levy set at one per cent of online sales, which would raise £1.5 billion to help fund a cut in retail business rates, and a reform of UK tax law to prevent online retailers avoiding tax.

Frances O’ Grady of the Trades Union Congress said ministers must not “watch from the sidelines” as stores close and jobs are lost, and that unions stand ready to work with ministers and employers on an industrial strategy.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said it has taken “decisive action” to support retailers including through the extension of the furlough scheme.

A spokesperson said: “To further support retailers during this critical festive period while helping to keep shoppers safe, we are also enabling councils to extend Monday to Saturday trading hours.

“We stand ready to support anyone affected by redundancies. If people need financial support quickly they may be able to claim Universal Credit, New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance.”