Unemployment looks set to jump – a new survey shows 24% of New Zealand employers are looking to shed permanent staff in the next three months.

The latest Hudson Report, Hiring Expectations, has returned the worst result since the survey began in 1999.

It shows a net negative effect of 11.3% for the April to June quarter, which means that 11.3% more employers are planning to reduce staffing levels during that period rather than increase them.

This represents a substantial drop of 19.2% from the previous Hudson survey.

Businesses need "playful" staff to help them get through the current recession, says a personality expert.

Employing "playful" staff doesn’t mean hiring boss-seducing temptresses, however.

According to Allison Mooney, "playfuls" are one of the four personality types found in any given office, alongside "precises," who are orderly and logical, "peacefuls," who are diplomatic, and "powerfuls," who are forceful "doers."