Can workers still climb the social ladder as middling jobs become scarce? Evidence from two British cohorts

•We ask whether employment polarization tends to reduce inter-generational mobility.•Polarization removes stepping stones that allow occupational upgrading during individuals’ careers.•British data shows that occupational upgrading during the career is a key source of mobility.•Comparing two cohorts, we find lower mobility for the one that entered a more polarized labour market.•Regions where polarization increased the most are also those where mobility declined the most.