The retail sector faces a tough employment market as strong firms cut costs and the weak go out of business, according to Maureen Hinton, lead analyst at retail analyst Verdict Research.

In the past week, restructuring advisory firm Begbies Traynor predicted that up to 15 retailers would go bust between now and February.

However, retailer Marks & Spencer announced plans to recruit  20,000 additional staff for Christmas, along with food retailers  Sainsbury’s and ASDA taking on  20,000 extra staff each and chemist Boots employing  7,000 additional staff over the Christmas period.

Explaining the dichotomy, Hinton told Recruiter: “There are some weaker operators on the high street. The credit crunch has speeded up their demise. The stronger ones are picking up the extra spend and are thriving, while the weaker ones are going by the wayside.

“It is still going to be tough on the jobs side. One of the big costs is staff and you see this with supermarkets increasingly introducing automated check outs which is a big reduction in costs.

“But you cannot completely wipe out front facing staff because in retail that is how you demonstrate your brand values by the personal contact in store.

“Retailers are automating where they can and cutting down on head office staff if it is not a productive or where work can be combined. Everyone is looking at getting rid of flab and companies are looking at the efficiency of their business. This is a prime time to analyse every post to make sure it is productive.”