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City Compass

Lake Macquarie (C)

Post-Census updates

JobSeeker recipients

This page tracks JobSeeker and Youth Allowance (other) recipients for Lake Macquarie (C) at SA2 level. It provides a more current signal of labour-market stress and socio-economic pressure than Census-only views.

About this topic

This page tracks JobSeeker and Youth Allowance (other) recipients for Lake Macquarie (C) at SA2 level. It provides a more current signal of labour-market stress and socio-economic pressure than Census-only views.

The current comparison uses January 2026 against June 2023. Rates are calculated against the available ERP 15-64 population for each period.

Key insight

In January 2026, 7,489 people in Lake Macquarie (C) were receiving JobSeeker or Youth Allowance (other), equal to 5.6% of the working-age population, compared with 6,828 (5.2%) in June 2023. Mount Hutton - Windale had the highest current rate and Valentine - Eleebana the lowest.

7,489

Recipients January 2026

5.6% of 15-64 population

+661

Change since June 2023

5.2% to 5.6%

10.2%

Highest SA2 rate

Mount Hutton - Windale

1.9%

Lowest SA2 rate

Valentine - Eleebana

Chart view

Recipients by SA2

Current rate on the bar, comparison rate as the marker. Sorted by current rate.

Lake Macquarie (C):5.6%
Rest of NSW:7.3%
New South Wales:5.3%

Mount Hutton - Windale

10.2%

9.7%

Lake Munmorah - Mannering Park (part)

8.9%

7.3%

Toronto - Awaba

8.2%

7.7%

Belmont South - Blacksmiths

7.2%

6.7%

Bolton Point - Teralba

7.2%

6.7%

Wallsend - Elermore Vale (part)

7.1%

6.5%

Bonnells Bay - Silverwater

7.0%

6.0%

Morisset - Cooranbong

6.3%

6.0%

Swansea - Caves Beach

6.0%

5.3%

Wangi Wangi - Rathmines

6.0%

4.6%

Belmont - Bennetts Green

5.6%

5.1%

Glendale - Cardiff - Hillsborough (part)

5.1%

5.0%

Charlestown - Dudley

5.1%

4.8%

West Wallsend - Barnsley - Killingworth

5.0%

4.8%

Adamstown - Kotara (part)

4.6%

3.7%

Warners Bay - Boolaroo

4.2%

3.9%

Edgeworth - Cameron Park (part)

4.1%

3.5%

Redhead

3.9%

3.0%

Maryland - Fletcher - Minmi (part)

3.9%

3.5%

Valentine - Eleebana

1.9%

1.8%

Comparison rateCurrent LGA rateHigher-than-LGA SA2s shown in accent

Data table

JobSeeker rates by SA2

Download recipient counts and rates for the current and comparison months.

SA2January 2026 recipientsJanuary 2026 rateJune 2023 recipientsJune 2023 rate
Mount Hutton - Windale60510.2%5759.7%
Lake Munmorah - Mannering Park (part)08.9%07.3%
Toronto - Awaba6508.2%6157.7%
Belmont South - Blacksmiths2407.2%2256.7%
Bolton Point - Teralba4607.2%4306.7%
Wallsend - Elermore Vale (part)147.1%126.5%
Bonnells Bay - Silverwater4157.0%3506.0%
Morisset - Cooranbong7306.3%6556.0%
Swansea - Caves Beach4406.0%3855.3%
Wangi Wangi - Rathmines3256.0%2504.6%
Belmont - Bennetts Green5905.6%5405.1%
Glendale - Cardiff - Hillsborough (part)8115.1%7825.0%
Charlestown - Dudley8205.1%7804.8%
West Wallsend - Barnsley - Killingworth2355.0%2254.8%
Adamstown - Kotara (part)794.6%633.7%
Warners Bay - Boolaroo3754.2%3503.9%
Edgeworth - Cameron Park (part)4804.1%4003.5%
Redhead803.9%603.0%
Maryland - Fletcher - Minmi (part)03.9%03.5%
Valentine - Eleebana1401.9%1301.8%
Source: Department of Social Services, data.gov.au. Rates use ERP 15-64 population denominators. Compiled by Geografia.