Expert: Phil Woodford - 6/25/2001

Question
Hi Phil,

I wonder if you could possibly shed any light on the socio-economic group system which classifies people/families as, for example, B3 or A2? I am wondering in particular if maybe, for example, the letter might indicate salary and maybe the number a job category? Also, for what is such information used?

Yours Graham

Answer
Hi Graham

The ABC system of measuring social class broadly reflects the way that the British government has categorised people for many decades.   It's a sliding scale from A (professional people, such as lawyers and doctors) down to E (unskilled workers).  In the middle, the C grouping of skilled workers has traditionally been sub-divided into C1s (non-manual occupations) and C2s (manual labour).  Official statisticians have in fact used a I, II, III, IV and V system, I believe, although the popular version of this - particularly with ad men and marketing gurus - is the ABC format.  Advertisers prefer magazines and newspapers with high AB readership, as these people have more money to spend.  The Conservative Party spent a lot of time nurturing the votes of C1s and C2s, who were thought pivotal to their electoral success.

The government's official scheme has now changed completely and is a bit more complex.  Details can almost certainly be found at the website for the Office of National Statistics.  It seems a long time since I studied sociology at university, but I recall that all stratification systems are highly controversial and have their own individual strengths and weaknesses.

Best wishes

Phil Woodford