RETAILERS have continued to cut jobs at a record rate despite new figures showing the best sales performance on the high street for almost two years. The CBI said pressure on firms to discount prices and cut costs accordingly had resulted in the sharpest

RETAILERS have continued to cut jobs at a record rate despite new figures showing the best sales performance on the high street for almost two years.

The CBI said pressure on firms to discount prices and cut costs accordingly had resulted in the sharpest fall in employment in the 23-year history of the business lobby group's quarterly distributive trades survey.

Sales in May were still regarded as being low for the time of the year, although there was some encouragement as 36 per cent of firms said volumes had risen on a year earlier.

The figures showed that strong competition caused more retailers to cut prices in the month compared to the number who increased them.

As a result, 39 per cent of retailers reported a fall in employment levels on a year ago, while only 10 per cent said there had been an increase. The negative balance of minus 29 per cent is worse than the record low reported last quarter.