Retail sales fall, employment levels rise

Like-for-like retail sales in the UK fell 1.6% in the first quarter compared with the same period last year, figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) have shown.

Food, homeware and furniture sales slowed during the period, while clothing and footwear saw their poorest performance for at least eight years, according to the BRC's Retail Sales Monitor for March.

However, the BRC said that the early Easter holidays, unseasonal weather and differences in school holiday timings across the country made comparisons difficult.

Stephen Robertson, director general of the BRC said this was strong evidence that consumers are concerned about the future.

"With recent retail profit warnings, it is further proof that trading is extremely tough but retailers are fighting back by keeping prices low and delivering extra value," he added.

Despite the downturn in the retail industry, national unemployment figures released today appear to offer some encouragement.

The latest government statistics suggest that the number of people out of work fell by 39,000 to 1.61 million between December and the end of February. Average earnings increased by 3.7% and the period saw the fewest redundancies since 1995.