Absolute occupational mobility
Published: 12 September 2023
Data on upward and downward occupational mobility – having a different occupational class from your parents.
Summary main findings
There is more upward than downward occupational mobility for both men and women.
The chances of both men and women from working-class backgrounds getting a professional job improved greatly over the 20th century.
Data from 2022 shows that 70% of people from lower working class backgrounds experienced upward mobility, and 32% experienced long-range upward mobility to the professional classes. 18% of people from higher professional backgrounds experienced long-range downward mobility into the working classes.
People who grew up in the south-east had the best upward occupational mobility rates, and people who grew up in the north and the south-west had the worst.
People who grew up in Outer London or Surrey and Sussex had the greatest likelihood of long-range upward mobility from the working classes to the professional classes. People who grew up in Cornwall, East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, and the Highlands had lower rates of long-range upward mobility or higher rates of long-range downward mobility.
Women’s chances of being in the higher-professional class were poorer than the chances of men from the same socio-economic background. Women were also more likely to experience long-range downward mobility than men. For example, 12% of women and 9% of men from higher-professional backgrounds were in lower working class jobs.
People with Indian and Chinese ethnic backgrounds had a greater likelihood of long-range upward mobility than other ethnic groups. People from Bangladeshi and Pakistani ethnic backgrounds had the highest rates of long-range downward mobility.
People with a disability or long-term limiting condition have a much lower likelihood of long-range upward mobility and much higher chances of downward mobility than the population as a whole. Disabled people from all socio-economic backgrounds were also much less likely to enter the professional classes.
By decade of birth (upward and downward mobility)
Visualisation
Percentages of people experiencing occupational mobility (upward, downward, and total), by birth cohort (UK, 1910 to 1999)
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Data
| Decade of birth | Upward | Downward | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men (%) | Women (%) | Men (%) | Women (%) | Men (%) | Women (%) | |
| 1990 to 1999 | 32.6 | 34.9 | 28.8 | 27.2 | 61.4 | 62.2 |
| 1980 to 1989 | 34.1 | 38.5 | 26.6 | 25.4 | 60.7 | 63.9 |
| 1970 to 1979 | 37.6 | 40.6 | 24.8 | 24.9 | 62.4 | 65.4 |
| 1960 to 1969 | 38.9 | 43.4 | 25.6 | 25.3 | 64.5 | 68.7 |
| 1950 to 1959 | 41.2 | 44.7 | 24.2 | 26.6 | 65.4 | 71.3 |
| 1940 to 1949 | 42.0 | 42.9 | 21.6 | 30.9 | 63.6 | 73.8 |
| 1930 to 1939 | 41.6 | 41.9 | 21.7 | 31.9 | 63.3 | 73.8 |
| 1920 to 1929 | 36.7 | 35.8 | 24.7 | 37.9 | 61.4 | 73.7 |
| 1910 to 1919 | 34.3 | 29.8 | 27.5 | 42.4 | 61.9 | 72.1 |
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By decade of birth (long-range mobility)
Visualisation
Percentages of people experiencing long-range occupational mobility (upward and downward), by birth cohort (UK, 1910 to 1999)
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Data
| Decade of birth | Long-range upward | Long-range downward | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men (%) | Women (%) | Men (%) | Women (%) | |
| 1990 to 1999 | 34.6 | 36.9 | 20.8 | 17.0 |
| 1980 to 1989 | 36.2 | 38.4 | 18.7 | 16.0 |
| 1970 to 1979 | 39.9 | 38.7 | 15.7 | 14.8 |
| 1960 to 1969 | 34.7 | 33.5 | 18.5 | 16.9 |
| 1950 to 1959 | 30.4 | 26.7 | 20.2 | 17.6 |
| 1940 to 1949 | 26.2 | 18.3 | 19.9 | 19.4 |
| 1930 to 1939 | 22.8 | 15.2 | 22.8 | 19.4 |
| 1920 to 1929 | 18.1 | 9.3 | 27.9 | 23.0 |
| 1910 to 1919 | 14.4 | 8.0 | 29.6 | 25.8 |
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For the full download file, see Download the data.
By area
Visualisation
Percentage of 25 to 64 year olds who experienced long-range upward and downward mobility, by region (UK, 2018 to 2022 combined)
41 regions in the UK are ranked from the lowest to highest percentages. They are then divided into 5 equally-sized groups (‘quintiles’), from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest).
The regional estimates have a large margin of error – do not rank or compare specific regions.
The lines either side of the dots represent confidence intervals – the range of values that the 'true' value for each region is highly likely to be within. In many cases the confidence intervals overlap. This suggests differences between specific regions may not be statistically significant.
See the composite indices for more precise estimates and to understand overall regional patterns.
Data
| Region | Long-range upward mobility (%) | Long-range downward mobility (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire | 39.5 | 16.8 |
| Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | 37.4 | 17.0 |
| Cheshire | 38.3 | 16.4 |
| Cornwall and Isles of Scilly | 31.4 | 25.8 |
| Cumbria | 33.2 | 24.2 |
| Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire | 32.0 | 21.4 |
| Devon | 34.8 | 22.4 |
| Dorset and Somerset | 36.7 | 17.8 |
| East Anglia | 33.9 | 18.4 |
| East Wales | 36.3 | 22.8 |
| East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire | 29.4 | 23.4 |
| Eastern Scotland | 35.0 | 21.6 |
| Essex | 37.5 | 19.4 |
| Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bath/Bristol area | 33.7 | 19.7 |
| Greater Manchester | 34.5 | 21.2 |
| Hampshire and Isle of Wight | 38.3 | 20.4 |
| Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire | 37.4 | 19.1 |
| Highlands and Islands | 35.5 | 30.0 |
| Inner London - East | 37.0 | 18.9 |
| Inner London - West | 37.5 | 16.2 |
| Kent | 37.8 | 19.9 |
| Lancashire | 35.5 | 22.0 |
| Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire | 38.0 | 20.2 |
| Lincolnshire | 31.4 | 21.8 |
| Merseyside | 34.0 | 23.1 |
| North Eastern Scotland | 31.3 | 24.9 |
| North Yorkshire | 32.8 | 21.5 |
| Northern Ireland | 28.2 | 21.9 |
| Northumberland and Tyne and Wear | 29.9 | 23.5 |
| Outer London - East and North East | 40.6 | 18.5 |
| Outer London - South | 38.8 | 16.1 |
| Outer London - West and North West | 45.7 | 16.4 |
| Shropshire and Staffordshire | 33.8 | 20.2 |
| South Yorkshire | 34.0 | 21.8 |
| Southern Scotland | 31.8 | 24.2 |
| Surrey, East and West Sussex | 39.7 | 17.3 |
| Tees Valley and Durham | 32.8 | 21.7 |
| West Central Scotland | 30.8 | 25.4 |
| West Midlands | 34.5 | 22.6 |
| West Wales and The Valleys | 34.2 | 23.0 |
| West Yorkshire | 32.4 | 22.3 |
Download
For the full download file, see Download the data.
By occupational class and sex
Visualisation
Percentages of people aged 25 to 64 years in each occupational class, by socio-economic background and sex (UK, 2022)
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Data
| Socio-economic background | Sex | Lower working (%) | Higher working (%) | Intermediate (%) | Lower professional (%) | Higher professional (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Higher professional | Men | 9.4 | 6.7 | 14.6 | 29.1 | 40.2 |
| Women | 12.1 | 8.0 | 18.9 | 34.3 | 26.6 | |
| Total | 10.7 | 7.4 | 16.8 | 31.7 | 33.5 | |
| Lower professional | Men | 13.6 | 9.3 | 16.6 | 31.0 | 29.5 |
| Women | 14.4 | 9.1 | 21.1 | 34.5 | 20.9 | |
| Total | 14.0 | 9.2 | 18.8 | 32.8 | 25.2 | |
| Intermediate | Men | 16.9 | 11.6 | 21.4 | 24.7 | 25.3 |
| Women | 20.7 | 12.8 | 23.5 | 28.9 | 14.1 | |
| Total | 18.8 | 12.2 | 22.5 | 26.8 | 19.6 | |
| Higher working | Men | 22.9 | 17.3 | 19.2 | 22.7 | 17.9 |
| Women | 22.8 | 15.2 | 24.3 | 27.9 | 9.9 | |
| Total | 22.8 | 16.2 | 21.8 | 25.4 | 13.8 | |
| Lower working | Men | 30.7 | 17.4 | 17.9 | 19.7 | 14.3 |
| Women | 29.7 | 17.3 | 22.6 | 22.6 | 7.8 | |
| Total | 30.2 | 17.4 | 20.3 | 21.2 | 10.9 | |
| All backgrounds | Total | 19.4 | 12.5 | 20.2 | 27.5 | 20.5 |
Download
For the full download file, see Download the data.
By ethnicity
Visualisation
Percentage of people aged 25 to 64 years experiencing upward and downward mobility, by ethnic group (UK, 2014 to 2022 combined)
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Data
| Ethnicity | Long-range upward mobility (%) | Long-range downward mobility (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Bangladeshi | 23.1 | 45.3 |
| Chinese | 45.7 | 25.3 |
| Indian | 43.8 | 19.5 |
| Pakistani | 24.8 | 40.3 |
| Black African | 30.5 | 36.5 |
| Black Caribbean | 34.7 | 31.1 |
| Mixed | 33.7 | 23.6 |
| White British | 33.0 | 20.9 |
| White other | 29.4 | 22.0 |
| Other | 29.0 | 34.3 |
Download
For the full download file, see Download the data.
By disability status
Visualisation
Percentage of people aged 25 to 64 years experiencing upward and downward mobility, by disability status (UK, 2014 to 2022 combined)
Click or tap on legend items to toggle visibility
Data
| Socio-economic background | Disabled | Lower working (%) | Higher working (%) | Intermediate (%) | Lower professional (%) | Higher professional (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Higher professional | Yes | 27.4 | 11.2 | 21.0 | 23.9 | 16.5 |
| No | 8.3 | 7.1 | 17.2 | 32.8 | 34.7 | |
| Lower professional | Yes | 32.6 | 12.1 | 19.0 | 24.9 | 11.3 |
| No | 9.9 | 8.3 | 19.9 | 34.4 | 27.4 | |
| Intermediate | Yes | 37.5 | 12.6 | 21.3 | 19.5 | 9.1 |
| No | 13.1 | 11.7 | 24.7 | 29.0 | 21.5 | |
| Higher working | Yes | 42.0 | 14.6 | 18.3 | 17.2 | 7.8 |
| No | 16.0 | 16.6 | 23.4 | 28.4 | 15.6 | |
| Lower working | Yes | 52.1 | 15.6 | 16.0 | 12.9 | 3.4 |
| No | 20.6 | 17.9 | 22.9 | 24.6 | 14.1 |
Download
For the full download file, see Download the data.
About the data
Data sources
- The General Household Survey (1972 to 2005)
- British Household Panel Survey (1991 to 2009)
- Taking Part Survey (2005 to 2006)
- Understanding Society (2010 to 2019)
- Labour Force Survey (2014 to 2022)
Time period
1972 to 2022
Geographic area
UK
What the data measures
The data shows changes in absolute occupational mobility – the extent to which your occupational class is related to your parents’ occupational class.
People’s socio-economic background in this data is based on the occupation of the main earner in their household when they were 14 years old. We use 5 categories:
- higher professional and managerial
- lower professional and managerial
- intermediate
- higher working class
- lower working class
These categories are based on the National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (‘NS-SEC’), set by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
‘Short range’ occupational mobility means moving between the intermediate category and either professional or working class occupations.
‘Long range’ occupational mobility means moving between working class and professional occupations.
Things you need to know
High levels of absolute occupational mobility can be due to both downward and upward mobility.
The figures for total mobility are the sum of the percentages of upward and downward mobility. This represents the percentage of the sample as a whole who were in a different social class position from the one in which they were brought up.
For data on mobility by year of birth (‘birth cohort studies’), the most recent cohorts are still early in their working lives as they were born between 1990 and 1999. The chances of people moving into the professional classes increases from 25 to 35 years old, and slows in their late 30s and early 40s.
The data used is weighted using the LFS probability weights.
For data by disability status, respondents were asked if they had a health condition or illness lasting 12 months or more, and if that condition reduced their ability to carry out day-to-day activities. This is consistent with the definition of disability in the Equality Act 2010.
The error bars show 95% confidence intervals. These intervals show where we expect the true value from a population to be 95% of the time. For example, a confidence interval with the range of values from 5 to 10 implies that there is a 95% chance that the true population value is between 5 and 10, and a 5% chance that it is outside of this range. The narrower the confidence interval or range, the more precise the estimate. Read more about confidence intervals
Type of data
Survey data
Full report
State of the Nation 2024 does not include updates to this page.
Read more about mobility outcomes in State of the Nation 2023 on GOV.UK.
Download the data
Download full dataset (CSV, 82KB)
This file contains the following variables:
- Indicator code
- Indicator name
- Area type
- Area code
- Area name
- Time period
- Socio-economic background
- Age
- Sex
- Category type
- Category
- Category type2
- Category2
- Value
- Sample size
- Lower confidence interval
- Upper confidence interval
- Standard error
- Unit
- Value note
Page history
Publication release date:
12 September 2023