And the mining states could be luring qualified tradespeople away from the capital.

The rate of unemployment in the ACT has crept up one percentage point over the past 12 months, from 3.5 per cent in April 2012 to 4.5 per cent in March this year, according to the Bureau of Statistics.

The unemployment rate in the ACT was higher for men than women, although it was still below the recent national rate of 5.5 per cent.

But Housing Industry Association ACT executive director Neil Evans said a local building contractor looking to hire skilled tradespeople would face the same problems finding suitable employees today that they would have 12 months ago.

''We've got a slowing housing industry, so people are looking outside of that industry for employment,'' he said.

Mr Evans said some skilled tradespeople were leaving the ACT, as construction was started on fewer homes in Canberra.

''We are hearing around the traps that because of the slowing housing market, people are migrating into the mining sector,'' he said.

Jim Roy, the ACT business director of recruitment company Hays, said there was demand in Canberra for experienced policy writers and skilled tradespeople, and chartered accountants and engineers were in short supply Australia-wide.

''These skills shortages are not really being addressed in the ACT,'' he said. He said the ACT could better market itself to international workers to help fill the gaps.

''Canberra certainly doesn't compete in attracting people from overseas; people go to the mining boom or Melbourne, Sydney,'' he said.

ACT and Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry acting chief executive Greg Schmidt said although he had not seen recent statistics on Canberra's skills shortage, he thought professional, white collar recruitment remained a problem.

''There is more people in the pool of people looking for work, so as a general concept employers are finding it easier to recruit people, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're always going to find the right person with the right skills that are actually needed,'' he said.

Mr Evans said economists were forecasting a further decline in housing starts in the ACT over the next year, which would be damaging to the industry and the local economy.

He said he hoped that the next ACT budget would include a stimulus package for the housing sector, including new home owners grants and a reduction in stamp duty, similar to that offered in NSW.

''There's a fair shift in purchasing on the NSW border, and again that's a concern for government and industry because land sales are important in the ACT,'' he said.