Canberra's unemployment rate is falling thanks to a relatively stable public service after the recent major cuts, a new report finds.
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The State of the Regions report said the city's unemployment rate dropped 0.3 percentage points between 2016 and 2017 to 5.7 per cent. The ACT's official unemployment rate, as measured by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, was 3.5 per cent in trend terms in May and has been heading down since peaking at 5.1 per cent in October 2015.
The regions report predicted the employment rate would grow 2 per cent during the same period, with a headline gross regional product growth rate at more than double the national average between 2015 and 2017.
The figures align with those published in the St George State Economic Outlook report on Friday, which showed the ACT was the second-fastest growing state or territory in the country.
Canberrans continued to enjoy the highest disposable income per capita in the country, a position held since at least 2012, while mortgage costs made up a below average percentage of household expenses.
The report, commissioned by the Australian Local Government Association, was published on Sunday and showed the performance of every region in Australia.
Report co-author, Dr Peter Brain from National Economics, said lower mortgage stress contributed to the relatively strong economic performance.
"The mortgage compared to income on a new house is only about 20 per cent compared to 40-plus for the Sydney and Melbourne metropolitan areas," he said.
"So you've got no problems building houses for a growing population, which goes back to your land management regime."
Canberra's population was expected to grow by about 5000 people between 2016 and 2017, part of a downward rate since a peak of 1.5 per cent between 2014 and 2015.
Younger people would make up a lower share of the population compared to five years ago, however; 20-29-year-olds would make up about 15.6 per cent of the city compared to 18 per cent five years ago.
Those aged 55 and older would go from 21.5 per cent to 24 per cent of the population during the same period.
The percentage of the population on welfare, with the exception of students on Youth Allowance, would be below the national average.
Public administration and safety were the largest industry group in Canberra at 83,326 employed, followed by professional, scientific and technical services (25,035), education and training (20,985) and health care and social assistance (20,844).
Across the border, the NSW southern tablelands region experienced a growth in agriculture, healthcare and education between 2012 and 2017.
Dr Brain said agriculture in particular benefited from the end of the mining boom and a lower exchange rate.
"It's the end of the mining boom and the 'resource curse', and the beginning of the rest of non-mining Australia to get some of the growth action," he said.
"One thing we've noticed around Australia is the boost to the agricultural incomes."
Dr Brain said Canberra's prosperity depended mostly on the national economic outlook, as well as its ability to diversify and haress the "knowledge economy".
"[Canberra is] well-endowed with knowledge creation activities, and you've used those endowments well in the last 20 years, so you've grown in line with your potential."
