22,000 jobs hit in tough year for the high street

Nearly 22,000 jobs have been hit on the UK’s struggling high streets this year.

BBC 5 Live’s Wake Up To Money has been tracking shop closures and retail administrations and found that more than 7,000 people have lost their jobs.

A further 9,500 roles are due to go through planned shop closures, while 5,100 are in doubt at Wakefield-headquartered Poundworld, which is in administration.

In the past six months, about 1,200 shops run by major chains have either shut or are at risk of closure.

A report by PwC and the Local Data Company found 4,000 High Street shops opened last year and 5,800 closed, causing a net loss of 1,700.

Sluggish sales, competition from online and rising costs have been blamed for the changing landscape.

High-profile failures such as Rotherham-headquartered Maplin, and Toys R Us, have been followed by a string of closure plans from retailers including Marks & Spencer, House of Fraser, Carphone Warehouse, New Look and Carpetright.