The latest report released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on April 21 showed that unemployment in the area went from 12.8 per cent in March 2015 to 5 per cent in March 2016.

And while the rate had risen by 1.3 per cent in the last month, the situation is much better than this time last year.

The March 2015 rate was the highest this area had seen since August 1999, when unemployment shot up to 14 per cent.

The figure was also the highest of any region in NSW at the time.

But since then the rate has gradually come down, reaching 3.7 per cent in February 2016, the lowest rate since August 2013 (2.3 per cent).

Cessnock City Council economic development manager Jane Holdsworth was pleased to hear about the improved figures, and said there were a few things that may have contributed to them.

She believes seasonal work such as grape picking may have been a factor, along with cheap petrol prices meaning more people were travelling and contributing to the visitor economy.

But Ms Holdsworth said the ABS labour force survey, which is released quarterly, will give a better indication of how unemployment is in Cessnock when the report is released in June.

“We’ll be able to see if it is an ongoing trend,” she said.

Ms Holdsworth said youth unemployment continues to be an issue in the Hunter and across the country.

The youth unemployment rate recorded by the ABS in March 2016 was over double that of regular unemployment, coming in at 11.9 per cent.

“Youth unemployment is dreadful, it is the biggest issue nationally,” she said.

Cessnock City Council is currently undertaking a gap analysis to identify growth industries of the future as well as what businesses need to be attracted to Cessnock that complement but not compete with pre-existing businesses.