The Hunter Region is located on Australian east coast in the State of New South Wales, between 31.5° and 33° south, and 152° east. The Hunter contains 13 local government areas (LGAS) surrounding the catchment of the Hunter River. The region's total population of 589, 240 in 2006.

In the late 1970s employment in the Region was characterised by a large proportion of jobs in traditional industries such as mining, steelmaking, shipbuilding, and power generation.

Toward the end of the 1970s protective overseas trade barriers were relaxed, many industries underwent major restructuring and substituted capital for labour.

Additional jobs were created in the tertiary service such as education, health, tourism and hospitality. These trends continued throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The proportion of people employed in the primary and secondary sectors almost halved over the 20 year-period.

There has also been a decline in business size. The Hunter Valley Research Foundation Survey (2002) indicates that around 75% of all employment in the region is in enterprises with up to ten staff, and 20% of companies have up to 50 employees.

From 1981-2001 there were significant increases in the proportion employed in wholesale and retail trade; health, education and community services; finance property, business services, recreational and personal services. Also there has been a reduction in the proportion employed in manufacturing; transport and storage; mining and utilities.