Spice Clothing manager Dora Kouvelis said it had been a solid summer for her Dean Street fashion store.

“We’ve been really lucky with a good climb ever since we started four years ago, because we added to our brands and our stock has changed,” she said.

“Our target is finding the right dress for everybody, we don’t have an exact age range.

“The lead-up to Christmas with races and weddings is big, but then through winter we have all the grads and debs, it’s amazing what happens in a dress shop.”

Westpac-Melbourne Institute’s consumer sentiment index jumped 5.7 per cent to 103.7 points in Victoria and rose 2.7 per cent to 103.8 points in NSW – the highest in the country.

A reading above 100 in the report indicates the number of people answering the survey who are optimistic is greater than the number of pessimists.

But nationwide Australia’s consumer sentiment remained in negative territory at 97.4 points, representing an increase of only 0.1 per cent in December 2016.

Victoria’s strong consumer confidence numbers coincided with the latest engineering construction numbers from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which showed the state’s infrastructure projects increased by 15.3 per cent for the year.

The increase was driven by public sector engineering construction work, with strong increases recorded in public roads.

Victorian acting Treasurer Robin Scott said the state’s strong performing economy had instilled a sense of confidence in consumers.

“The strong engineering construction numbers also reflect the momentum the Andrews Labor Government is generating to create a prosperous Victorian economy,” he said.

Meanwhile, 9,300 full-time jobs and 4,200 part-time roles were added to the economy in December, according to the ABS.

But an increase of the participation rate – the number of people working and looking for jobs – meant the total unemployment figure jumped to 5.7 per cent.

Ms Kouvelis said she had taken on more staff during 2016.