The UK retail sector is experiencing ‘entrenched negatives’ from decades ago | Social mobility

Britain’s former industrial areas are facing a “significant deterioration” that dates back decades, the latest social welfare survey has said.

It is raising concerns about the number of 16-24 year olds not in education, employment or training (Neets), which was one in seven between 2022 and 2024.

World Social Mobility Commission the report also showed “significant regional disparities” in terms of childhood, limited employment opportunities, limited skills and lack of growth.

Yorkshire, the North East, the Midlands, Wales and Scotland were still reeling from the effects of deindustrialisation, it said, referring to “six decades of economic crisis and decline”.

However, it also identified “beacons of hope”, with favorable conditions for innovation and future growth Aberdeen, Brighton, Bristol, Cheshire West and Chester, Edinburgh, Oxfordshire, Reading, West Berkshire and Manchester.

The chairman of the association, Alun Francis, said that economic opportunities have been “overwhelming” in some areas, although there are positive signs in other areas.

“All the communities, which are usually coastal towns after the industrialization, have been left with serious problems. This is the biggest problem of the people of our generation,” he said.

The report, the largest collection and analysis of data on people’s mobility in the UK, acknowledges that the number of young people finding good jobs has increased, with 48.2% of 25 to 29-year-olds in professional jobs from 2022-24, compared to 36.1% in 2014-16. But it also showed a big difference between the respectable people and the working people who are receiving these jobs.

Women from poorer backgrounds also struggle to find better-paid jobs than women from more privileged backgrounds, according to the organisation, a consultancy which reports on the UK’s social movements and provides advice on England.

International comparisons in the report show that the UK ranks alongside countries such as France and Japan in giving young people the best chance to surpass their parents’ educational achievements.

It also found that the UK has similar rates of labor migration to other large western European countries, such as Germany and Sweden, which have seen fewer people leaving for better jobs as the growth of skilled jobs has slowed.

The annual report was published after the committee testified to parliament last week on what success looks like to people living in Britain today.

It found that people rated professional or managerial jobs, or even earning more money, more important than work conditions, job security and jobs they cared about.

The processes they consider most important are health, mental health and well-being, relationships with family and friends, education and communication. Owning a home and saving money were also praised by respondents, who said they did not believe life in the UK was “fair”.

Figures in that evidence found that people consider group identity to be “lean”, and more than three out of four describe themselves as being in the same class as their parents.

Those who were already at the top of the social ladder were more concerned about moving up than those at the bottom.