(Alliance News) - High street stores in the UK are starting to recruit staff as non-essential shops prepare to reopen in England and Wales, new research suggests.
Retail vacancies have increased to within 14% of their pre-pandemic levels, according to jobs site Indeed.
Jobs in the retail sector "collapsed" during the first nationwide lockdown last May, but have bounced back following the road map to recovery, the report said.
In recent days, job postings on Indeed showed the biggest one-week gain since February.
A study of non-food stores posting the most new jobs since February is dominated by DIY outlets, which have been allowed to remain open during lockdown and benefited from a boom in demand for home improvements, Indeed said.
Jack Kennedy of Indeed said: "The road maps out of lockdown gave many retailers all the incentive they needed to ramp up their hiring, and the prime minister's confirmation that non-essential retail can reopen in England next week looks set to trigger another spike in job postings.
"The news that retail employers are at last hiring at close to their pre-Covid pace will be music to the ears of the thousands of jobseekers who have struggled for over a year to find work in hard-hit sectors like retail and hospitality.
"We can expect to see shoppers flocking back to the high street in coming weeks as they experiment with browsing in a physical shop for the first time in months, providing a much-needed boost to the economy.
"Online shopping has boomed during the pandemic, and retailers' high demand for delivery drivers and loaders suggests many expect the trend to continue even after high street stores reopen."
source: PA
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