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The National Statistics Socio-Economic Status Classification
- 2001
Changes to the Registrar General’s
Index of Social Class were announced on 1st December 1998. You should
still know the old Index of Social Class which refers to classes 1 -
5, because many texts will still be using it until the new Index has
come into everyday use.
If social class
is a variable of your research study then it is important that you show
up-to-date knowledge. You are advised to use the new system or to offer
good reasons why you have stuck to the old one in your work.
The leader of the team who redesigned
the class index was Prof. David Rose of Essex University.
The reasons for redesigning were:
- Manufacturing has declined
- Under the old system, almost
everybody was in Class 3
- The growth in the employment
of women
- The emergence of service sector
industry (leisure, food entertainment, insurance, and business)
The basis of the new system is on
employment conditions:
- Job security
- Promotion opportunity
- Ability and opportunity to work
on own and make own decisions about tasks
| Social
Class |
|
Typical
employment |
| Higher
Managerial occupations |
1.1 |
Company
directors, Police Inspectors, Bank Managers, Senior Civil Servants,
Military Officers |
| |
1.2 |
Doctor,
Barrister, Solicitor, Clergy, Librarian, Teacher |
| Lower
Managerial |
2 |
Nurses
and midwives, Journalists, Actors, Prison Officers, Police and Soldiers
(below NCO) |
| Intermediate |
3 |
Clerks,
Secretaries, Driving Instructors, Computer Operator |
| Small
employers |
4 |
Publicans,
Farmers, Play group leader, Window cleaner, Painter and Decorator |
| Lower
supervisory and craft |
5 |
Printers,
Plumbers, Butchers, Bus Inspectors, TV engineers, Train drivers |
| Semi-routine
occupations |
6 |
Shop
assistant, Traffic Warden, Cook, Bus drivers, Hairdressers, Postal
workers |
| Routine
occupations |
7 |
Waiters,
road sweepers, Cleaners, Couriers, Building labourers, Refuse collectors |
| Never
worked |
8 |
Long
term unemployed and non-workers |
Evaluation
- How is this system different from
the old five-category system? (knowledge)
- Why was it necessary to change
the system of classifying people? (interpretation)
- Do you approve of/agree with this
new system? Give reasons for your answer. (evaluation)
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