UK beauty sector shed 2.8% of jobs in 2025, £28.3bn report finds

The UK beauty and personal care industry contributed £28.3 billion to the economy in 2025 while shedding 2.8% of its workforce, according to the British Beauty Council's Value of Beauty 2026 report, compiled by Oxford Economics.

Direct employment in the sector fell 2.1% year-on-year. The British Beauty Council attributed the contraction to wage inflation, higher National Insurance contributions, business rates and energy bills — the four largest fixed-cost lines on a typical salon P&L, all moving against operators in the same fiscal year.

How large is the sector?

The £28.3bn figure covers the full personal care value chain: hairdressing, beauty services, wellness, aesthetics, consumer goods, manufacturing, retail, marketing and media.

• Direct GDP contribution: £14.4bn (51% of the total)
• Supply chain purchases: £6.1bn
• Wage spending by industry and supply-chain workers: £7.8bn

The total was 0.4% lower than 2024. The report linked the drop to a 0.7% decline in household spending on personal care services and products, plus weaker overseas demand for UK-made beauty goods.

Where do the jobs sit?

The sector supported more than 595,000 jobs in 2025 across direct, supply-chain and wage-spent roles. Direct employment accounted for 422,000 of those posts, with the beauty services sub-sector — covering salons, hairdressing and beauty therapies — employing 243,000 workers.

That same sub-sector generated the largest direct GDP contribution at £5.7bn, ahead of product manufacturing, retail and exports.

What does the export picture look like?

UK beauty and personal care exports reached £4.2bn in 2025, equating to 1.25% of total UK goods exports. The EU Single Market absorbed 70% of shipments, four percentage points higher than in 2019.

The three largest country markets:

• Ireland: £652m
• Belgium: £448m
• United States: £368m

US demand weakened sharply. Exports to the US fell 19% between Q1 and Q4 2025, a slide the report tied to new US tariffs and the suspension of the "de minimis" threshold on commercial shipments — a change that has already reshaped pricing and route-to-market for British brands selling across the Atlantic.

What's the outlook for 2026?

Oxford Economics forecasts consumer spending on beauty products and services to grow 3.9% in cash terms this year, lifting total industry-supported GDP to £29.4bn.

Supported employment is projected to recover to 609,000 jobs, a 2.4% rise on 2025. The sector's tax contribution is expected to climb from £8.8bn to £9.4bn, with direct tax receipts rising from £4.6bn to £5bn.

The report flags downside risks from wider economic and geopolitical pressures — the same tariff volatility that hit US-bound shipments in late 2025 is the variable salon owners and brand buyers will be watching most closely over the next two trading quarters.

Millie Kendall OBE, chief executive of the British Beauty Council, said: "Successive budgets have made it increasingly difficult for beauty businesses to create and sustain jobs. Ours is a labour-intensive sector that plays a vital role in driving social mobility and providing employment opportunities for young people."

"Despite these headwinds," Kendall added, "the good news is the industry's economic contribution remains strong, demonstrating the resilience of consumer demand and the important role our sector continues to play in supporting Britain's high streets and wider economy."

The next data point worth tracking: HMRC's Q2 2026 PAYE real-time information release, which will indicate whether the 2.4% employment rebound materialises or whether rising payroll costs continue to weigh on hiring across salons and spas.