London, Nov 26 (IANS): Nearly a quarter of the pubs in Britain have closed over the past decade, according to data released on Monday from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The statistics show there were around 50,000 pubs in 2008, but the number decreased by 23 percent to around 39,000 in 2018, Xinhua news agency reported.

The main reason was due to more consolidation around bigger pubs, resulting in the disappearance of smaller venues.

Despite the huge number of closures, turnover doesn't seem to have been impacted. Statistics show the overall turnover of pubs and bars in 2018 remained flat compared with 2008, with inflation taken into account.

Employment at pubs increased by 6 percent in 2018 from 2008 levels, though the number of jobs in pubs dipped during the economic recession.

The rise was largely attributable to a dramatic increase of employees in big pubs, especially those with 10 or more employees. The ONS said the reason is that the big pubs typically require more waiting and kitchen staff to serve food and drinks.

Pubs in Britain employed on average five workers in 2008, compared with eight in 2018, partly due to the closure of smaller pubs.