Canada’s labor market posted a strong rebound in June, adding 83,000 jobs, far above expectations of just 900. Unemployment rate dipped from 7.0% to 6.9%, defying forecasts of an increase to 7.1%.
The decline ends a three-month stretch of rising joblessness and was supported by a 0.1 percentage point uptick in the employment rate to 60.9%. Total hours worked also rose by 0.5% on the month, putting them 1.6% higher than a year earlier—a sign of sustained underlying momentum.
Wage growth continued to moderate, with average hourly earnings rising 3.2% yoy from a year ago, down from May’s 3.4% yoy.
