Retail

• 11% of jobs currently held by women are at risk of elimination as a result of AI and other digital technologies. / Forbes
• Hundreds more retail jobs are expected to be lost after Gap said that it would shut 19 stores as part of a continuing review of its UK operations. / The Times
• With full business rates relief ending in England in June, the ongoing rates review needs to deliver on its objectives to reform the broken rates system and reduce the financial pressures on retailers, otherwise many stores and viable jobs will be under threat'. / content
• The healthcare sector represents a large and growing portion of the US GDP, with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) predicting that healthcare spending will account for nearly 20 percent of overall GDP by 2025. / Cognizant
• Women's jobs have a 70% or higher probability of future automation, translating globally to 180 million jobs held by women that could be eliminated over the next 20 years. / Forbes
• Every week last year, an estimated 3,400 retail jobs were lost in the UK, with up to 200,000 more retail jobs predicted to be at risk in 2021. / Training Journal
• The anticipated retaliation by China will escalate the U.S.-China trade war and reduce U.S. gross domestic product by nearly $3 billion. / CTA
• Walmart will invest $350 billion in U.S. manufacturing over the next 10 years, a move the retailer estimates will support the creation of more than 750,000 new American jobs. / Retail Touchpoints
• A recent study commissioned by the CTA and the National Retail Federation showed that the current $50 billion in duties will reduce the U.S. gross domestic product by nearly $3 billion and lead to four job losses for every job gained. / Twice
• With automation also threatening the loss of many retail jobs in future, some are predicting that as much as 95% of shopping will be online by 2040. / The Conversation
• The retail, healthcare and transportation sectors are all expected to add approximately 400 jobs in 2021, which for retail would be the first growth in years but also follows the loss of about 1,300 jobs last year. / Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
• As in Europe, we suspect that manufacturing, construction and most retail will remain open, but restrictions on other sectors will still come at a huge economic cost with millions of jobs potentially at risk. / Think.ING
• In 2021, AI augmentation will generate $2.9 trillion in business value and recover 6.2 billion hours of worker productivity. / The Economic Times
• Depending on how heavily retailers automate in the years to come, job losses could be severe in a sector that has already experienced wave after wave of store closings by the likes of Macy's, Toys "R" Us and Sears. / NY Times
• 44% of UK wholesale and retail jobs are at potential risk of automation from robotics and AI by the mid-2030s 121. / Retail Ireland Skillnet
• 2020 will be the toughest year for closures and job losses since 2008/9, with forecasts predicting 235,704 job losses and 20,620 store closures by the end of the year. / Money
• If 20% of the labor market is retail and restaurants, and people are not comfortable going to retail stores and restaurants, then there's going to be a lot of people still looking for jobs at the end of this year. / MarketWatch
• Healthcare represents a large and growing portion of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) predicting that healthcare spending will account for nearly 20% of overall GDP by 2025. / Cognizant
• The Centre for Retail Research expects the challenges facing retailers to continue in 2020 with more job losses and more store closures. / Fashion United
• The rates burden on retailers is accelerating store closures, job losses and declining high streets and hindering the industry's ability to invest in the stores of the future and in new technology which will benefit UK shoppers. / BRC

Last updated: 01 August 2021