Contractors working in retail could face job losses as retailers have been predicted to cut back on staff in the coming year.

The Centre for Retail Research predicted that retailers will axe tens of thousands of jobs during 2011 in an effort to cut outgoings.

 Joshua Bamfield, director at the Centre, said that around 10,000 shops will close during the year, with independent retailers suffering the most, being forced to cut back on staff and even give their businesses up.

"Everybody is looking at costs and competition and prices, so we think that as a result of natural wastage many retailers, however good or bad the business is, will look to slim costs down even more and that means fewer staff," he added.

Meanwhile, the BRC-Bond Pierce Retail Jobs Monitor said that the number of hours worked by retail employees in December 2010 fell by 1.5 per cent compared to the same time in 2009, as a result of difficult trading conditions.