Washington (CNN) — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday lowered interest rates again in a continued effort to keep the labor market intact, despite objections from several key Fed officials who believe the central bank should be prioritizing the higher cost of living instead.

A majority of policymakers voted to lower the benchmark lending rate by a quarter point for the third consecutive time, to a range of between 3.5% to 3.75%, the lowest in more than three years.

Wednesday’s decision drew three dissents — from Fed Governor Stephen Miran, Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid and Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee — the highest number of dissents since September 2019.

It’s also the fourth consecutive meeting that a Fed decision wasn’t unanimous, the longest stretch since 2019.

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