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

The move is the Fed’s first cut since December and it lowered its short-term rate to about 4.1%, down from 4.3%. 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.

Yet the central bank’s focus has shifted quickly from inflation, which remains modestly above its 2% target, to jobs, as hiring has grounded nearly to a halt in recent months and the unemployment rate has ticked higher. Lower interest rates could reduce borrowing costs for mortgages, car loans and business loans, and boost growth and hiring.

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

Fed officials also signaled that they expect to reduce their key rate twice more this year, but just once in 2026. Before the meeting, investors on Wall Street had projected five cuts for the rest of this year and next. Stocks wavered a bit as Powell took questions from reporters. The S&P 500 ticked down 0.1% as of 3:40 p.m. ET.

Just one Fed policymaker dissented from the decision: Stephen Miran, who President Donald Trump appointed and was confirmed by the Senate in a rushed vote late Monday just hours before the meeting began. Miran preferred a larger half-point cut, but Powell told reporters there wasn’t “very much support” for the bigger-size cut among Fed officials.

Many economists had forecast there would be additional dissents, and the meeting’s outcome suggests that Powell was able to patch together a show of unity from a committee that includes Miran and two other Trump appointees from his first term, as well as a Fed governor, Lisa Cook, whom Trump is seeking to fire.

Still, there were significant differences among the 19 officials on the Fed’s rate-setting committee about where the Fed should go next. Seven policymakers indicated they don’t support any further cuts, while two supported just one more and 10 favor at least two more. One official — likely Miran — indicated that they would support several large cuts to bring the Fed’s rate to 2.9% by year’s end. Fed officials submit their forecasts of future rate moves anonymously.