Fuel and travel costs are pushing prices up again
Thursday 5 November 2026
Inflation has risen to 3.1%, meaning everyday spending is getting more expensive just as household budgets are already under pressure.
Social mobility
How people's income, work or other life outcomes compare with the circumstances they grew up in.
Key term
What it means
Social mobility is often studied by comparing adults with their parents at a similar stage of life. Someone might end up in a different type of job, with a different income, housing situation or level of wealth. That change can be upward or downward. Researchers also ask whether people from different family backgrounds have similar chances of reaching the same outcome. Which measure they choose affects the answer.
Example
Someone grows up in a household in the lowest income tenth and, as an adult, lives in a household in the highest income tenth. That is one example of upward income mobility; one person's story cannot tell us how common it is.
Why it matters
It helps show whether a person's starting point strongly shapes their later opportunities, rather than treating every outcome as a matter of individual effort.
Related terms
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Income inequality
The gap between people or households in the money they receive.
Read more -
Intergenerational wealth transfer
Money or other wealth passed from an older generation to a younger one.
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Median earnings
The middle amount of pay when people's earnings are put in order.
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Wealth inequality
The gap between people in what they own, after subtracting what they owe.
Read more
Keep in the loop
News
Highlights from about the UK economy, the UK government and the UK public sector.
Mortgage relief will have to wait a little longer
Wednesday 4 November 2026
Interest rates are staying at 3.75%, so households with mortgages and other borrowing may have to wait longer for costs to come down.
Energy bills are going up as winter approaches
Wednesday 4 November 2026
A higher energy price cap means many households will be paying more to heat and power their homes during the colder months.
Guides and insights
Analysis
Clear, accessible analysis of the economic issues shaping everyday life
Living standards
What does a day’s work buy?
Comparing the cost of everyday life across generations, from bread and beer to buying a home.
Food & prices
The journey behind your grocery bill
How farming, energy, transport and supermarket competition shape the price on the shelf.
Prices & inflation
Inflation is falling. What happens next?
What slower price rises mean for wages, purchasing power and economic recovery.
Shared prosperity
What would shared prosperity look like?
Beyond GDP: how we could measure economic success through security, opportunity and living standards.
Let's work together
Get in touch
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