Barrow lost more than 100 retail jobs in just three years, new figures reveal, signalling that businesses in the area were facing challenges before the coronavirus crisis even began.

Swathes of high street stores have announced job cuts and shop closures nationally due to the economic impact of the pandemic, which has seen the UK fall into the largest recession on record.

Office for National Statistics data reveals 3,780 people were employed in retail jobs in Barrow in 2018 – the most recent period with available data.

That was 130 fewer than in 2015, a drop of three per cent, suggesting that the industry had encountered struggles well before Covid-19 arrived. Retail made up around 13% of all employment in Barrow in 2018, with 1,170 jobs based at retail premises in the area's main high street.