Recession closes '52 pubs a week'

The recession is being blamed for closures and huge job losses in the pub industry. New figures from the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) shows 52 pubs closed every week in the UK for the first six months of the year, an increase of a third on the same period last year. The group reports that 24,000 jobs have been lost in the past year. A spokesman for the BBPA said the overall number of pubs had remained steady at around 60,000 for years, with closure rates at around two businesses a week in 2005. Figures show the number of pubs dropped by 2,377 in the last year, to a total of 53,466.

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ITN | July 22, 2009

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