An increase in female average earnings has offset a fall for men, to keep Canberrans with the largest pay packets in the nation.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows average wages (for an adult working ordinary time) have effectively flatlined in Canberra this year.
It continues the trend where the rest of the nation has been slowly catching up.
The ACT and Western Australia have long had the nation's largest average pay packets, thanks to Canberra's largely highly educated workforce and the number of people involved in mining (the industry with the largest average pay packet) in the west.
But the two jurisdictions have had the slowest wage growth in the nation over the past five years - well below the national average and almost half the rate of Victoria and Northern Territory. However, they still sit at the top of the list.
Nationally, the average pay packet was $1634 (or $84,968 a year) in trend terms. In Canberra, it's $1811 ($94,172).
In the public sector, it was $1785.40 ($92,841) and in the private it was $1594.70 ($82,888).
ABS chief economist Bruce Hockman said the compositional data pointed to a pick up in average earnings growth.
It came after a period of low growth in average weekly earnings, which partly reflected the growing number of lower earning workers in the services sector, including aged care, childcare and disability care workers.
While average weekly earnings data can be used to compare, at the very broad level, average earnings between men and women, such comparisons do not take into account a range of compositional differences, the bureau says. For example, differences in occupation or hours worked which contribute significantly to the differences observed between male and female earnings.
"Percentage movements in average weekly earnings can be affected by changes in both the level of earnings per employee and in the composition of the labour force. Factors which can contribute to compositional change include variations in the proportion of full-time, part-time, casual and junior employees; variations in the occupational distribution within and across industries; and variations in the distribution of employment between industries," it says.
Meanwhile, the latest employment figures showed the jobless rate was steady in the ACT at 3.5 per cent in trend terms. It remains the lowest rate in the country.
Nationally, employment was up for the 33rd time in 34 months, according to CommSec chief economist Craig James, who said the latest increase in jobs was a bit better than expected.
The national unemployment rate was steady at 5.2 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms.
But few inroads have been made into labour market slack, with underemployment rising 0.2 basis points to 8.4 per cent, suggesting more part-time workers want more hours of work.
Economists had expected the jobless rate to remain unchanged amid subdued wages, low household consumption and spare capacity, which now appears bigger than previously thought.
NAB economist Kaixin Owyong said it was clear further economic stimulus was needed from the Reserve Bank and that another rate cut to 0.75 per cent could be expected by November.
"While the ongoing strength in employment will be reassuring for the RBA, these data suggest that spare capacity remains in the labour market," Ms Owyong said.
Thursday's figures follow hot on the heels of stagnant June quarter wage price index figures, which on Wednesday showed year-on-year wages growth was stuck in a range of 2.3 per cent and 2.4 per cent for a fourth consecutive quarter.
BIS Oxford economist Sarah Hunter said sustained strong jobs growth would be needed to help boost employees' pay packets.
"Labour supply has easily responded to the strong growth in demand from firms over the last two years and there are no signs yet of a general shortage of workers," Dr Hunter said.
Unemployment has been the key metric cited by the RBA in its decision to cut rates in both June and July to a record low 1.0 per cent.
A third cut to 0.75 per cent is almost completely priced in for October, while a reduction to 0.50 per cent is likely by February.
But Mr James instead suggested a greater use of fiscal policy, rather than rate cuts, would be necessary to make further inroads into unemployment outside the country's largest states.
- with AAP