The Newcastle unemployment rate remains well below the national average, hovering around 3 per cent for the third consecutive month.
Regional labour force figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie jobless rate at 3.1 per cent in January, 0.4 percentage points below the national rate and slightly below the NSW average of 3.2 per cent.
The number of workers across the two local government areas fell 3400 last month, but the 225,000-strong workforce remains 23,600 larger than pre-pandemic levels in January 2020.
The workforce participation rate, a key measure of people in work or actively looking for employment, dipped slightly in January from a record 70.8 to 69.8 per cent in Newcastle but is still well above the state rate of 66.3 per cent and national level of 66.5 per cent.
The ABS labour force survey has produced variable results in the rest of the Hunter outside Newcastle, where the jobless rate jumped from 2.7 per cent in December to 5.5 per cent in January.
The trend unemployment rate, a 12-month average which levels out bumps and hollows in the data, is at 3.8 per cent in the rest of the Hunter.
The workforce participation rate for the rest of the Hunter is down from 63.9 to 62.5 per cent, well below the state and national averages.
Barely half of women in the rest of the Hunter are in the workforce, compared with 70 per cent of men.
Business Hunter said the steady unemployment data contradicted a steep drop in online job advertisements last month.
The National Skills Commission's Internet Vacancy Index has dropped from a historic peak of 7180 in October to 6037 in January.
Business Hunter chief executive Bob Hawes said the disappearance of more than 1100 online job advertisements could be seasonal or due to employers' frustration.
"The fall may be reflective of business giving up the recruitment talk across the holiday period or sheer frustration with the lack of candidates coming forward to apply," he said.
"We've detected a nuance in the market, with employers now prepared to seek out skilled workers rather than any warm body.
"It may also be a sign that we are starting to see some of the ripple effects of rising interest rates coming to bear."
He said early indicators showed a softening in demand for workers.
"It will be interesting to see if it rebounds in February or if businesses continue to ease their efforts in recruiting. We'll be watching this closely," he said.
Business Hunter said the jobs figures showed the pool of unemployed people in the Hunter had grown by 5000 in January to 15,700.
The number of people employed full-time had fallen by 12,300.
"Youth unemployment also grew across the region, which is not unusual for January, as the ranks of those looking for jobs out of school and tertiary education hit the job market," Mr Hawes said.
The monthly figures show 4400 people aged 15 to 24 were looking for work, well below the 9400 in March 2020.
