08/04/2009 - Taxes 'putting pub jobs at risk'
A leading organisation in the beer and pub sector has warned nearly 60,000 jobs could be lost from the industry over the next five years if the Government continues to increase taxes.
The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said if the planned "punitive increases in tax and regulation" go ahead it will create more problems for the already struggling industry.
In a report published ahead of the Budget, it said the industry, which currently employs 600,000 people and supports a further 550,000 jobs generating an estimated £28 billion in economic activity, faces "severe and sustained" pressures.
Figures in the report suggest 59,000 jobs could be lost over the next five years as a result of poor sales, which have already seen beer sales fall by nine million pints a day since 1979.
Chief executive David Long said: "This report sets out clearly the exceptional pressures the beer and pub industry is facing at this time.
"Pubs are closing at a record rate and one in 10 of the 600,000 jobs in the sector are under threat as a result of the worst trading conditions anyone can remember."
Copyright © Press Association 2009
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