This month’s Report on Jobs is out. The monthly feature is published by Markit in cahoots with Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and the accounting giant KPMG. According to it, the permanent jobs increased at the fastest rate in the last four years. Ironically, at the same time the number of candidates to fill these positions has seen a sharp decline. The report also showed an unexpected albeit small increase in the number of jobless individuals.

The results of the report are pretty interesting. The report is deemed to perfectly showcase the “clash of confidence” being experienced among the working class of Britain. As businesses are growing and securing stronger footholds in the market, they are getting ready to hire people on a permanent basis. They are prepared to trust people for long term jobs. Naturally, this would be preferable to a short term job since it will bring greater stability to the company and positively impact its performance. Look at it like this: your boss changes every two months or your boss stays the same for years on end. Naturally in the second scenario, you will, over time develop a good rapport with your boss and become comfortable working under him or her. On the contrary, a frequently changing boss means needing to rebuild trust and develop a new working relationship. Naturally this would negatively impact your productivity.

On the other side of the coin are the workers. Wary of flashy job offers which provide low job security, they are treading with care. Most of them are happy where they are, despite no advancements in their career. This has majorly resulted due to the earlier trend of the British job market offering ephemeral jobs. At a time cronyism ran rampant in the job market with under qualified sycophants getting the biggest slices of the pies while the truly deserving individuals were reduced to the sidelines. Unfortunately, despite sweeping reforms in the market, public perception has still not changed. This is the main reason that people would rather stay in lower paying jobs which offer them long term job security rather than take a risk and move up the corporate ladder. This only serves to exacerbate the chasm between employed and unemployed individuals. The logic is simple: unless people get promoted, no new entry level jobs are generated. Naturally, since everyone must start at an entry level job, many individuals remain unemployed.

The results of the report are very significant. This report has a proven track record of predicting changes in the job market accurately. It is considered a benchmark in the United Kingdom and is referred to by eminent financial analysts and The Bank of England. It has been issued every month since 1997. It is considered an authority on the job market in the United Kingdom, partly because of its high frequency and detailed data collection methods. Apart from the overall report, there are regional reports available for North Britain, South Britain, Scotland, The Midlands and London. The Scottish report is prepared in collaboration with The Bank of Scotland.