Figures released Friday morning by Statistics Canada showed the jobs picture in this country is continuing its forward progress. Canada's economy added 45,000 jobs in June, bumping the unemployment rate down to 6.5%.
The agency reported Friday that most of the new jobs were part-time.
Most of the jobs also came in British Columbia and Quebec, which added 28,000 and 20,000 jobs, respectively.
Everywhere else, the job market was largely unchanged.
The job numbers are the last major data release before the Bank of Canada meets next week to set its benchmark interest rate, and the consensus view in recent weeks is that the central bank will hike rates for the first time in seven years because the economy is starting to heat up.
