Canada’s job market surprisingly gained 83,000 positions in June, pushing the unemployment rate down to 6.9 per cent from seven per cent and adding another wrinkle to predictions of where interest rates are headed.

Benjamin Reitzes, BMO’s managing director of Canadian rates and macro strategy, said in a note that while he is “skeptical” of the strong report given the uncertainty hanging over the economy, the June jobs figures were “pretty decent overall.”

The June jobs numbers will be the last look the Bank of Canada gets at the labour market ahead of its next interest rate decision on July 30.