The increase, detailed in the Commonwealth Bank's business sales indicator report, was welcomed by business leaders and the ACT Government.

The ACT annual growth rate was almost double the national rate of 6.6 percent and well above the national decade average of 5.1 percent.

Canberra Business Chamber chief executive Robyn Hendry said it was not unusual for consumer spending to increase after a period of economic uncertainty.

"People are less fearful about their job prospects and many of those who have lost their jobs have already left the territory," she said.

"Our employment numbers remain stable and our population has retracted, which tells me some people have left work to find work elsewhere."

Earlier this month, ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr announced the territory economy had "turned the corner" and officially recovered from cuts to the federal public service and economic uncertainty.

Despite his assurance, the unemployment rate increased for the fourth consecutive month in August to 4.8 percent on trend, the highest rate since November last year.

Ms Hendry said the increase in consumer spending could also be explained by a weaker Australian dollar and the strong performance of local industries.

"A lot of this is linked to the value of the dollar as many of the positives from this report can be found where people are spending locally rather than overseas," she said.

"With a weakened dollar people are less inclined to take overseas holidays and that matches with the strong increase in domestic tourism we have seen recently."

Nationally, the clothing and miscellaneous stores sectors recorded the strongest growth in August with a 1.1 percent boost, while professional services and member organisations recorded a 0.7 percent increase.

In annual terms, the strongest growth in spending was recorded in the hotels, clothing, manufacturing and personal service sectors.

Commsec chief economist Craig James said the report revealed the Australian economy was in good shape and is continuing to grow.

"While the initial boost in business spending following the last Federal budget has tapered off, annual growth figures show that economy-wide spending remains above the decade average," he said.

Interest rates are low, the job market shows signs of settling and home building is underpinning spending across the economy.

The increase in consumer spending has not been enjoyed across all of the country. The Northern Territory recorded a 7.9 percent drop in annual spending, followed by a 5.9 percent decrease in NSW, and smaller 0.3 percent decline in Victoria.