Canberra Business Chamber chief executive Robyn Hendry says rising confidence since the public service sector's freeze ended is reflected in jobs figures, retail and hospitality spending and more cafes and restaurants opening.

"We have seen lots of cafes and restaurants open, one wondered for a while whether demand would keep pace with supply, but it has, figures are positive," Ms Hendry said.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr, a consistent critic of the federal government's jobs freeze, tweeted last week the ACT's 3.8 per cent unemployment rate was Australia's lowest, and had been positive for 12 months.

Hays Recruiting regional director ACT Jim Roy says the strong construction sector is evident from "the old-school crane count", all erected for building homes, including high-density projects at Belconnen and Braddon.

"You have a strong infrastructure pipeline, with light rail and other projects going on which will pick up people in designing, site project managers, and engineering space and all of these things are happening at once – the opposite to what was happening in 2012-13," Mr Roy said.

Ms Hendry says new entrants to Canberra's retail sector such as IKEA had stirred interest in the shopping sector. "Equally we have seen strong retail pretty much across the board with smaller boutique retail, and our stable market," she said.

"I think once people had a fair amount of security with employment, that things weren't going to deteriorate in a wholesale significant way, they would start exploring new opportunities Canberra was offering," Ms Hendry said.

Mr Roy says when business sentiment returns, employers invest in permanent heads. "People are also confident enough to leave a job for another firm, so employee jobs confidence goes up as well, because if the market is down, you are not going to risk losing a good wicket," he said.

Ms Hendry says Canberra has recorded its highest ever level of visitation for domestic and international tourism, helped by the low dollar. She says the lower dollar is diverting attention on the overseas market back to Canberra, where tourists have a more complex food and wine offering and better sports events to complement the traditional national attractions.

Ms Hendry says ACT exports grew 16 per cent last year, following five years of less dramatic, but solid growth.

"We went to Silicon Valley with a lot of our exporters late last year, it was really clear we had many of the ingredients here in Canberra, that had been present in Silicon Valley, that gave rise to what it had," Ms Hendry said. "It is a very compelling foundation for new businesses to grow. Really that is why we are seeing strong growth in our services exporting in the knowledge economy."

She said the missing ingredient was venture capital, but the ACT's solid education base and access to policy platforms and decision makers still created exceptional opportunities.

Mr Roy says new opportunities are coming for contractors, more public service contracting, working from home. "The agile workforce is something employers are taking advantage of and getting temporary contractors in," he said.

Higher wages could emerge from the demand in some sectors. "In some areas of the APS a person may be offered a six-month contract at department x and nine-month contract at department y, some candidates may look at what is the best offer on the table," he said.

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