The latest economic snapshot for the region has been released by the Hunter Research Foundation Centre.
It's a mixed bag, with the June quarter bringing subdued income growth and consumption, improved business confidence despite a decline in household confidence and a fall in the unemployment rate.
Lead Economist DR Anthea Bill says the state of the region's unemployment and employment rates are quite positive.
"The Hunter economy added 4,500 jobs and that was a growth of 1.4 per cent so that's in line with the state and a lot of those new jobs that were added to the economy were full-time jobs and growth was strongest in males and over the quarter male part-time employment actually contracted."
It's good news for first home buyers, but not so good for home owners - there's been a 2 per cent decline in Lake Macquarie and a 5 per cent drop largely in Dungog, Port Stephens and Singleton.
"The median house price across the Hunter declined in the June quarters of 2.4 per cent decline so that's the first time we've had a negative quarterly growth in median house price since September 2015 and that's led to a slowing of the annual growth rate to 6 per cent," said DR Anthea Bill.
However, while there are a few positives, DR Anthea Bill says apprenticeships for young people have been on a steady downward trend since 2012 with a 24 per cent decline.
"I understand there was some removal of employer incentives around that time period and there have also been overall shifts in employment away from manufacturing which has been a very strong provider of apprenticeships and traineeships in the region. I heard commentary also around the wage rate for apprentices and trainees."
