02:41 PM EST, 12/10/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The Federal Reserve reduced its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points Wednesday amid continued concerns about the health of the labor market.

The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee lowered interest rates to a range of 3.50% to 3.75%, in line with Wall Street's expectations and marking a third straight quarter-percentage-point cut.

"Job gains have slowed this year, and the unemployment rate has edged up through September," the FOMC said Wednesday following its two-day meeting. "More recent indicators are consistent with these developments."

The latest remarks echoed those made in late October, though the FOMC said at the time that the unemployment rate remained "low" through August despite going up.

Three FOMC members dissented from the majority, with Governor Stephen Miran preferring a 50-basis-point reduction and Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee and Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid voting in favor of a no-change stance, according to the Fed statement.

Heading into the meeting, there were signs of a growing divide among FOMC members regarding the policy path ahead amid concerns about high inflation and labor market weakness. A 43-day-long record US federal government shutdown that ended last month has delayed key economic reports, impacting the central bank's data-dependent stance.

Last week, data released by global outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas showed job cuts in the US surpassed 1.1 million in the year through November, reaching their highest year-to-date total since 2020. Payroll processing firm ADP (ADP) data showed employment in the US private sector surprisingly fell last month.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics won't publish October employment data that was delayed due to the shutdown. The November jobs report is scheduled for release next week.

The Fed reiterated its views about the economy Wednesday, saying economic activity has been expanding at a "moderate" rate and inflation continues to be somewhat elevated.

"In considering the extent and timing of additional adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, the committee will carefully assess incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks," the FOMC said.

The FOMC's next meeting is scheduled for Jan. 27-28.

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