According to new research from Deputy, the world’s leading workforce management platform, employment across the UK’s retail sector remains 5% below pre-pandemic levels, reinforcing the industry’s major decline as it combats the impact of automation and e-commerce. With workers seeking better wages and stability, the hospitality sector has proved to be the most popular, experiencing 2% year-on-year (YoY) job growth powered by the resurgence of London’s night-time economy. This outperformed global counterparts Los Angeles and New York City, highlighting not only the rapidly changing dynamics of how and when people engage with work, but also leisure.
Featured as part of The Big Shift 2025: Fall of Retail, Rise of the Night-Time Economy – Deputy’s annual report highlighting the evolving hourly workforce and its economic impact – the findings are derived from analysis of 20+ million shifts across 165+ million hours of work by over 189,000 shift workers in the UK. Conducted in partnership with Dr. Shashi Karunanethy, Chief Economist at Geografia, the report reveals retail’s decline, London’s nightlife boom, and the rise of micro-shifts across key industries such as retail, hospitality, healthcare and services.
According to The Big Shift 2025, 25% of consumer spending in London now happens at night, fuelling a shift in dining habits across the capital as shift workers in fast food and cashier restaurants (31%), cafes and coffeeshops (16%) and sit-down restaurants (14%) benefit most from a surge in hours. However, the fortunes of the retail sector are rapidly deteriorating – a quarter (25%) of retail shift workers are considering leaving their roles, with the same figure taking on more than one job to supplement their income.
As more UK shift workers navigate the challenging economic climate, one of the key workforce dynamics is the emerging transition from gig roles to structured micro-shifts, which combines flexibility with more predictable income and job protections. 41% believe this will improve their job stability.
“The hourly shift work market is undergoing a rapid transition. Retail, once an industry powerhouse, is shrinking as automation and e-commerce take hold, pushing workers toward better paying jobs in hospitality, healthcare and services. Meanwhile, London’s night-time economy is booming, with businesses adapting to rising after-dark demand from consumers.” said Silvija Martincevic, CEO of Deputy. “At the same time, we are seeing vulnerable gig work under pressure. Micro-shifts aren’t about working less, but they are about working smarter, offering flexibility and forcing businesses to rethink workforce planning. The Big Shift Report 2025 is a roadmap to this new world of hourly work.”
Key findings and data from Deputy’s The Big Shift 2025 report also include:
Retail in decline. Home, hardware and garden stores saw the steepest decline with a 9% drop in employment. Despite these declines, supermarkets have remained resilient, growing by 4% as consumers prioritise necessities over discretionary spending. Whilst London is the driving force behind employment growth in the sector, certain roles are disappearing to automation. The future of the sector depends on balancing automation with the need for human-centric service and operational roles.
Night-time economy is surging, but not how you would expect. The UK’s capital is the driving force behind growth, outperforming LA and New York City, with 58% of transactions taking place in the City of London. This has fuelled hospitality job growth by 2% year-on-year, but whilst fast food and late-night dining is thriving, traditional nightclubs and bars are stagnating.
A workforce evolution is underway as structured micro-shifts replace gig work, and Gen Z set to overtake Millennials in shift work. Young workers show a strong demand for multiple job roles (23% of Millennials have 4 or more jobs), reinforcing the need for more structured employment alternatives to gig work and highlighting why businesses must adapt to these new workforce expectations. Although Millennials hold the lion share of shift work (36.1%), Gen Z are set to overtake Millennials by 2026 (currently 35%). As Gen Z becomes a dominant force in the workforce, their career preferences and expectations will reshape the labour market.
Policy and innovation shifts ahead. With wages rising faster than inflation and zero-hour contracts under review, UK employment policies are set for significant change driven by technology, demographic shifts and regulatory changes such as the ‘Right to Disconnect’ and increases to the National Living Wage. This will create higher operation costs for businesses that rely on shift work.
“The findings of The Big Shift: UK 2025 underscore the urgent need for businesses and policymakers to adapt to the new economic reality.” said Dr. Shashi Karunanethy. “Employers must rethink workforce planning, wage structures and scheduling to retain talent, and policymakers must balance innovation with protection for workers, particularly as zero-hour contracts face scrutiny in April. A resilient economy starts with understanding and adapting to workforce needs.”
