The ACT has tumbled down the rankings of state and territory economic high achievers on the back of the capital's above-average jobless rate.
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In a warning sign for the Barr government as it battles the Omicron outbreak, the latest CommSec State of the States report has the ACT ahead of only the Northern Territory on economic performance.
The ACT has placed no lower than third in the quarterly rankings since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tasmania remains Australia's best performing economy, ranking first on indicators including relative unemployment and retail spending.
The report said there was little separating the other states, including the ACT. State and territory economies were in "solid shape" overall, the report noted.
There is however some cause for concern for the ACT, which entered the pandemic in a strong economic position and has largely avoided the worst effects of the now two-year long crisis.
The ACT ranked last on the unemployment indicator, with the territory's December jobless rate of 4.5 per cent some 12 per cent above its decade average.
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Only Queensland - at 4.7 per cent - recorded a higher unemployment rate than the ACT in the month of December.
The ACT ranked second to last on retail spending, with the amount spent during the September quarter only level with the decade average.
Canberra was in lockdown for more than half of that period, which likely explains the lack of spending.
Figures released earlier this month showed Canberra's retail sector roared to life back as restrictions eased in October and November.
However, the toll of the ongoing Omicron wave, which has shuttered businesses and forced large numbers of workers in isolation, is not yet known.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr this month ruled out new business support measures for the time being, confident that existing schemes are sufficient.
Rates of construction work completed and new dwelling starts were also well below the 10-year average.
However, the value of new home loan commitments was 63.5 per cent above the decade average, reflecting a trend across the country.
The ACT ranked third on the economic growth indicator, which combined household and equipment spending as well as imports to measure activity.
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