Federal Reserve Cuts Interest Rates a Quarter Point as US Job Market Wobbles

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter point as central bankers said worries about a wobbly US job market have begun to outweigh anxieties over inflation.

Eleven of the Fed’s 12 central bankers voted for the regular-size cut including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who has spent most of the year deflecting attacks from President Trump over his refusal to lower rates.

The exception was Stephen Miran, who instead voted for a jumbo-size, half-point cut — one day after he left his position as Trump’s economic adviser to become a Fed governor.

Central bankers have been delaying rate cuts over fears that tariffs could reheat inflation, which has shown signs of picking up over the summer. Consumer spending has likewise been resilient despite Trump’s tariffs.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell called Wednesday’s decision a “risk-management cut” as policymakers confront a “very different picture of the risks to the labor market” following major downward revisions to job growth earlier this month. (Read more from “Federal Reserve Cuts Interest Rates a Quarter Point as US Job Market Wobbles” HERE)

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