As the UK navigates another period of economic uncertainty, headlines have become increasingly dominated by words like "restructuring," "redundancy," and "hiring freezes." For many businesses, especially those grappling with inflationary pressure, halting recruitment and tightening training budgets might seem like logical cost-saving measures. But while these decisions may bring short-term financial relief, they carry long-term consequences—particularly for social mobility.
The Opportunity Gap Widens
Social mobility in the UK was already facing challenges long before the current economic climate. The country has long struggled with entrenched inequalities, where a person’s socioeconomic background significantly influences their career trajectory. The pandemic exacerbated these inequalities, and now, a wave of recruitment slowdowns threatens to undo years of gradual progress toward a fairer labour market.
When organisations pause or shrink recruitment efforts, the effects ripple out. But not equally. For first-generation professionals, young people from low-income backgrounds, or those from historically marginalised communities, the consequences are disproportionately severe. The roles being paused or eliminated are often the very stepping stones they rely on to break into professional careers.
Graduate schemes, internships, apprenticeships, and early-career positions are frequently among the first to be cut when organisations tighten their belts. These programmes have long served as key access routes for individuals who lack networks, family connections, or the financial stability to take unpaid roles. Without these opportunities, access to employment becomes more reliant on who you know, not what you know.
According to the Sutton Trust, 39% of young people say they have had fewer opportunities to gain work experience since the pandemic began.
Recent figures from the Social Mobility Foundation show that over 60% of professional jobs in the UK are still held by people from privileged backgrounds. Meanwhile, only 34% of employers maintained the same level of entry-level hiring in 2024 as they did before the pandemic. For aspiring professionals from underrepresented backgrounds, the pathway into work has become narrower and more competitive.
Training Cuts Hit Hardest
And it’s not just about access. Even for those who secure a role, recruitment freezes often coincide with cutbacks in training and development. These cuts hit hardest at those with the most to gain from structured learning and internal mentorship. Without these systems, career progression becomes less transparent and more reliant on informal networks—networks which marginalised individuals are less likely to have.
The issue is particularly acute in professions like law, finance, medicine, media, and the civil service—sectors that have historically drawn from a narrow talent pool. In recent years, targeted diversity initiatives helped to shift that trend, but when budgets are squeezed, these programmes are often the first to be deprioritised. It's a costly mistake.
A 2024 CIPD report found that only 21% of employers had maintained or increased their investment in early careers training compared to pre-pandemic levels.
The cultural impact is equally damaging. When people from underrepresented communities are locked out of opportunities, workplaces become less diverse. The range of perspectives, lived experiences, and innovative thinking that diversity brings is lost. This doesn’t just affect morale or brand reputation—it directly affects performance. According to McKinsey’s 2023 report on Diversity Wins, companies in the top quartile for ethnic and cultural diversity are 36% more likely to outperform their peers on profitability.
Some may argue that during times of economic downturn, survival should come first. But investing in social mobility isn’t just about fairness—it’s about resilience. A workforce drawn from diverse backgrounds is more adaptable, more creative, and better equipped to respond to complex challenges.
The good news is that there are solutions—and many of them are already being trialled. Forward-thinking employers are protecting and adapting their early-career pipelines by offering remote internships, targeted outreach to state schools, and partnerships with community groups. Others are investing in digital training, removing degree requirements from job specs, or introducing transparent progression frameworks.
Policy matters too. Government support is essential. Wage subsidies, tax incentives, and regional development schemes can provide vital support to employers willing to maintain inclusive hiring during downturns. There is also a strong case for publicly funded retraining schemes that are accessible to workers without existing qualifications. Programmes like Skills Bootcamps and T Level placements, if expanded, could play a transformative role in keeping opportunity alive.
Crucially, data must drive change. Employers need to be transparent about who they’re hiring—and who they’re not. Monitoring socioeconomic background alongside gender, ethnicity, and disability is now recognised as best practice. The Bridge Group and Social Mobility Commission both recommend clear frameworks for collecting this data, helping organisations spot gaps and design targeted interventions.
Above all, social mobility must be treated not as a charitable cause but as a strategic imperative. It should sit at the core of recruitment strategies, embedded in succession planning, and reflected in executive accountability. The return on this investment is not just reputational—it’s economic.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates that narrowing social mobility gaps could boost UK GDP by £39 billion each year.
We’ve made too much progress in the past decade to lose it now. Recruitment freezes shouldn’t mean pausing inclusion efforts. On the contrary—they are the moment to prove that your commitment is real. Because the organisations that continue to invest in potential, even during downturns, are the ones that will emerge stronger, more innovative, and more trusted by the communities they serve.