Up to 3750 Hunter people could lose work when JobKeeper runs out on Sunday, according to Treasury estimates.
Federal Treasury said this week that 100,000 to 150,000 workers nationally could lose their jobs when the wage subsidy expired.
If these figures hold for the Hunter, the region will shed between 2500 and 3750 jobs.
A Newcastle cafe which relies on office workers for revenue told the Newcastle Herald on Friday that it would be on the brink of collapse without JobKeeper.
The cafe's owners asked to remain anonymous because they have put the business up for sale.
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The shop's revenue is down 70 per cent due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is unlikely it will be able to retain all its staff when the government's $1000-a-fortnight subsidies run out.
"We've been waiting until JobKeeper ends to work out what we're doing," a spokesperson for the owners said.
"We're going to try to sell. Our rent's been put back up even though we've been asking for a further reduction."
The cafe's catering revenue had been "non-existent".
"We'll be re-evaluating what to do with our staff.
"If JobKeeper kept going, we'd just be able to scrape by."
The NSW Tourism Industry Council surveyed tourism businesses and found 42 per cent expected to reduce staff numbers and 53 per cent would cut hours when JobKeeper disappeared.
One in 10 said they expected to close permanently and one in five said they could close temporarily.
The Newcastle Herald reported this week that the city had piled on almost 10,000 jobs in February, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data.
"We hope that the impact of JobKeeper ending is minimal and that most businesses in our area are now in a position to transition off the scheme, if they haven't already," Hunter Business Chamber chief executive officer Bob Hawes said.
"But the reality is that the loss of the subsidy will put a financial squeeze on businesses that are still recovering from COVID and reducing their payroll may be the only way for them to stay afloat."
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