Recruiters are feeling the pinch as retailers report drop in sales.

A survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has found that 60% of retailers witnessed a drop in sales in the first half of August, while only 13% reported higher sales.

Andy Clarke, chairman of the CBI distributive trades panel and retail director of Asda, told the Guardian: "This has been a summer that many retailers would rather forget. The downturn in the housing market is continuing to depress sales for those shops selling big-ticket items."

Julian Howell-Jones, chief executive at retail recruiter Star Executives, told Recruiter: “It’s not just August. In the last three months, the retail market has collapsed in the UK. There has never been such a deep downturn and it is much more noticeable than in the 1990s.”