Regional differentials, changing working patterns and high-skilled labour mobility: An overview

Green, Anne, Wahba, Jackie, McCollum, David, Payne, Jonathan, Taylor, Ian and Ghazaryan, Armine , Mcgowan, Teresa and Dey, Becki (eds.) (2025) Regional differentials, changing working patterns and high-skilled labour mobility: An overview (ESRC Centre for Population Change Connecting Generations Policy Briefing Series, 83) ESRC Centre for Population Change 4pp.

Abstract

There are ongoing policy concerns around regional inequalities, productivity weakness and the under performance of the UK’s second-tier cities. Human capital (the knowledge, skills, experiences and attributes of the workforce) is an important factor for the economic and social well-being of people and places. The geographically uneven distribution of high-skilled labour has been identified as a major contributor to regional inequalities.

The migration of young people to university, followed by job-related moves of graduates and high-skilled workers, leads to a concentration of high-skilled labour in London, the Greater South East and in large cities. The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated pre-existing trends in the take-up of remote/hybrid/home working with the potential to alter the economic geography of the UK.

This briefing reviews evidence from the UK and abroad on changing working patterns and high-skilled labour mobility, their potential for reshaping the UK’s economic geography, and the associated challenges for policy.

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Contributors

Author: Jackie Wahba

Editor: Teresa Mcgowan

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