Update: Interest Rates

Last week, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 0.25 percentage points. The U.S. labor market has slowed significantly throughout 2025, adding an average of just 29,000 jobs a month. The unemployment rate has risen to 4.3 percent from 4 percent in January, and the rate of hiring has slowed to levels not seen since the COVID-19 pandemic. Inflation has also steadily risen since the summer, hitting an annual rate of 3 percent in September, per the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) data.