The Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) conducted a telephone survey from March 15 to March 31 to gauge public views about social mobility in the city and received 717 adults' responses.

Nearly half of the respondents said the opportunities for upward mobility for young people were insufficient (45.4 percent) and have worsened compared to a decade ago (48.5 percent), with only 17 percent thinking that the situation had improved.

When asked whether the opportunities for upward mobility would improve in the next ten years or later, 33.3 percent of the respondents predicted it would get worse, 29.2 percent estimated it would be similar to the current situation, and 31.1 percent expected it would be better.

Most people were unsure if leaving Hong Kong would help their upward mobility, as nearly half said "half-half" when asked if heading to mainland China or foreign countries could help.

Concerning predictions about personal social mobility opportunities in the next five years, 54 percent said they would not change, 22.3 percent predicted they would move downward, and nearly 16 percent predicted they would move upward.

Approximately 38 percent of the respondents agreed that having a "higher quality of life" meant upward social mobility, an increase of 9.1 percent from the previous survey.

The other responses were "more wealth and a better career" (31 percent), "a higher education level" (14.8 percent), and "a stronger influence on society" (5.6 percent).