The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate by a quarter-point and projected it would do so twice more this year as concern grows at the central bank about the health of the nation’s labour market.

The move is the Fed’s first cut since December and lowered its short-term rate to about 4.1 per cent, down from 4.3 per cent. Fed officials, led by Chair Jerome Powell, had kept their rate unchanged this year as they evaluated the impact of tariffs, tighter immigration enforcement, and other Trump administration policies on inflation and the economy.

“In this less dynamic and somewhat softer labour market, the downside risks to employment appear to have risen,” Powell said at a press conference following the Fed’s two-day meeting.

Yet the central bank’s focus has shifted quickly from inflat

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