Canada’s labour market defied expectations in June, adding a net 83,100 jobs while the unemployment rate dropped to 6.9%, according to Statistics Canada data released on Friday. The figures make a Bank of Canada interest rate cut less likely, economists say, and will likely move the focus to upcoming inflation data. Financial industry experts had expected the job market to stay essentially flat last month, forecasting a net loss of 3,000 jobs, according to consensus estimates published by the Bank of Montreal. Expectations were for the unemployment rate to increase 0.1 percentage point to 7.1%. The results show the “resilience” of Canada’s labour market, which will be noted by the Bank of Canada, CIBC economist Katherine Judge writes following the release. “While the unemployment rate is still elevated, the strength in other measures in this report clearly diminishes the odds of a BoC cut” at the July 30 interest rate announcement, she says.