Research and analysis

Overview: the Social Mobility Index

Updated 12 May 2023

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The Social Mobility Index is a framework for measuring social mobility in the UK. It enables a systematic look at social mobility outcomes, as well as the drivers behind social mobility. It sets out a long-term vision for measuring and monitoring social mobility outcomes over the next 30 years across the UK.

The Social Mobility Commission (SMC) published the first Social Mobility Index in 2016. The original index included data on geographic disparities across England in some social mobility drivers.

What the Social Mobility Index measures

The new index measures:

  • drivers of social mobility

  • intermediate outcomes

  • mobility outcomes

Drivers of social mobility 바카라 사이트“ looking at the future

Drivers are the background conditions that make social mobility easier.

Drivers include factors like childhood conditions, such as the education and occupation level of your parents, and work opportunities for young people. There is evidence to show that they can help increase rates of upward mobility for groups with historically lower rates. These factors also reduce the influence of your parents바카라 사이트™ circumstances on your social mobility chances.

Intermediate outcomes 바카라 사이트“ looking at the present

Intermediate outcomes measure the progress people make from their starting point to an early end point. These include outcomes such as employment in their 20s, or school results at 16 years old.

We break outcome measures down by people바카라 사이트™s socio-economic background. This is so that we can see how different starting points affect progress to certain end points.

Mobility outcomes 바카라 사이트“ looking backwards

Mobility outcomes measure progress to a later end point, such as people바카라 사이트™s employment or income in their 40s or 50s.

Future development

The index will continue to develop over time as our understanding improves and new data becomes available.

We will also analyse how someone바카라 사이트™s socio-economic background, geography and personal characteristics, such as sex, ethnicity, and disability influence their outcomes. This will provide a more detailed picture of mobility in the UK for both policymakers and the public.

Data on social mobility

2023

2022

2017

2016

What is social mobility?

The term 바카라 사이트˜social mobility바카라 사이트™ can have different meanings.

In the SMC바카라 사이트™s work, it refers to the difference between your life outcomes and those of your parents. This is sometimes referred to as 바카라 사이트˜intergenerational social mobility바카라 사이트™.

For example, if you have a professional occupation and your parents had a working-class occupation, you have experienced upward occupational mobility. If you have a high income and your parents had a low income, you have experienced upward income mobility.

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