Uneven geographies of economic recovery and the stickiness of individual displacement

How far do economic recoveries help those whose employment potential was most affected in times of crisis to clamber back—and under what regional conditions? We examine this issue drawing on individuals’ employment histories from the UK Household Longitudinal Study. We find that—with the notable exception of the London economy—loss of occupational status is ‘sticky’, with evidence of limited ‘bouncing back’ for those ‘bumped down’ the occupational ladder during the crisis. London’s exceptionalism is consistent with expected metropolitan advantages (denser/larger labour markets), but we find no evidence of a broader North–South divide, while comparisons across regions outside London reveal no significant associations with general indicators of the form/intensity of economic recovery.