THE jobs market remains tough, with companies only tentatively looking to create jobs, a law firm study has said.

Bond Dickinson’s Retail Employment Monitor, which includes data for more than one million employees, said 75 per cent of companies surveyed aim to keep staff levels unchanged in the coming months.

The figure is a drop from the 80 per cent mark at the same time last year.

The report, carried out alongside the British Retail Consortium, also revealed the equivalent number of full-time jobs fell 2.5 per cent in the second quarter.

However, Bond Dickinson, which has offices in Stockton and Newcastle, said there was an improvement in the number of retailers intending to increase staffing levels, which rose marginally to 21 per cent in the second quarter year-on-year.

Companies aiming to cut jobs in the next three months remained at four per cent.

Christina Tolvas-Vincent, Bond Dickinson’s head of retail employment, said: “While the long-term outlook for retail employment continues to be positive, the landscape remains challenging.

“Though food retailers have largely weathered the recession storm, they have faced tough trading conditions of late, which have contributed to the fall in the number of hours worked despite the opening of new stores.

“From our research, the majority of retailers intend to keep staffing levels the same or increase them marginally, with redundancy levels remaining low.

“Looking further afield, pop-up retailing, which has been among the fastest growing segments of the retail sector, has the potential to further bolster the sector over the coming year.”