Canada Adds Surprise 83,000 Jobs in June, Driving Unemployment Rate Down to 6.9%

A worker uses an angle grinder on a vessel under construction at a shipyards, in North Vancouver, B.C., on Oct. 10, 2024. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck

Canada’s labour market topped expectations in June amid a surprise surge in hiring.

Statistics Canada said Friday that the unemployment rate dropped a tenth of a percentage point to 6.9 percent in June as the economy added some 83,000 jobs.