Social mobility in Hong Kong 'getting harder', poll says
Poll reveals majority of Hongkongers feel it's getting harder to upgrade lifestyle in the city
More than 60 per cent of Hongkongers believe upgrading their standard of living is harder than 10 years ago, a poll has found.
Researchers interviewed 707 people, aged 18 and above, about their chances of moving up the social ladder.
Only 14.6 per cent of respondents felt their prospects had improved over the past decade, while 54.6 per cent said there were "insufficient" opportunities in Hong Kong for upward social mobility. Just 9.9 per cent believed there were "adequate" opportunities in the city.
Those under 31 years of age, with tertiary level education, tended to be most pessimistic about their prospects of upward social mobility.
Researcher Dr Victor Zheng Wan-tai, associate director of the university's Centre for Social and Political Development Studies, said: "The expansion of tertiary education will naturally raise graduates' expectation about their future careers, wages, and the opportunities of moving up the social ladders.
"A more diversified economy can create more middle-ranking or higher-middle-ranking jobs."
