And while carpenters such as Josh O'Connor were briefly getting into the spirit of things with a beer and a barbie on their Weston Creek work site on Tuesday, they reckon it might be some time before they are able to take a day off.

The CommSec State of Service report, published on Wednesday, says the new dwelling sector is a major contributor to dragging Canberra's economy back to its feet after it was floored by Commonwealth public sector cuts.

CommSec's researchers found the ACT had the nation's strongest annual growth in new housing with dwelling starts at record highs in trend terms in the September quarter, up more than 44 per cent on a year ago.

Mr O'Connor is not surprised to hear that news; he estimates that he has helped to build 100 houses, townhouses and units since the beginning of 2014 and there is no end in sight to the busy times.

The carpenter and his mate Darryl Reed were helping put up a group for two and three-bedroom townhouses in Coombs on Tuesday when they took a well-earned rest for a beer and a snag but were far too busy to think about taking the day off.

"There's too much work, we have to do it," Mr O'Connor said.

"It was like that pretty much all of last year, we haven't stopped.

"There was a low of a couple of weeks every now and then, but not much."

According to CommSec, the sharp lift of dwelling starts is the clear reason for the sharp improvement of the Canberra economy, moving a from a dismal sixth place on the rankings to equal third.

The bank's researchers predict stronger housing activity will support the local job market and keep Canberra's cash registers ringing throughout 2016.

Mr O'Connor and his colleagues certainly do not see any slowdown in the demand for new houses or the demand for their services.

"If it keeps going the way it is, then yeah, it'll be flat out," he said,

But some formalities still have to observed.

"You gotta have the lamb and sausages for lunch, it is Australia Day after all," he said.