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The United States central bank cut interest rates on Wednesday, marking the second reduction this year during economic turbulence stemming from the federal government shutdown and trade duties.

Decision Comes at Extraordinary Time for Central Bank

The move to cut the benchmark interest rate by a quarter point to a range of 4% to 3.75% arrives at an unprecedented moment for the Fed. The institution has been under immense pressure to cut rates despite ongoing price increases.

Central Bank Announcement Highlights Job Market Changes

In a announcement, the Federal Reserve said that the jobless rate had gone up but stays modest. “Employment growth have decelerated,” the release notes. “Inflation has moved up and stays somewhat elevated.”

Federal Closure Hinders Fed’s Job

The continuing federal government shutdown, now one of the longest in US history, has also complicated the Fed’s job. Collection of key economic data has been indefinitely halted as employees at the BLS are furloughed during the closure.

Information Shortage Impacts Monetary Moves

The Fed typically studies BLS data to assess labor market conditions, including the number of new jobs added to the economy and the present unemployment rate. The last jobs report was released in the beginning of last month, before the closure, and gave a somewhat gloomy snapshot of the jobs market in August.

The figure of jobs created to the economy in August was down by more than 100,000 since the earlier season, and joblessness rose to four point three percent – the highest since three years ago.

Private Data Indicate Continued Slowdown

Though BLS was set to publish last month’s employment data in the start of last month, it suspended its release once the shutdown began. Employment data company a leading payroll processor reported earlier this month that the private sector cut 32,000 positions in last month, a sign that the employment landscape is continuing to slow.

“Supply as well as demand for workers has fallen significantly,” Fed chair Jerome Powell said earlier this month, a trend he had earlier attributed stems from immigration and tariff policies.

Inflation Report Reveals Moderate Rise

Though the bureau’s jobs report has been suspended, the agency still issued its inflation report for last month that indicated that costs are rising, albeit gradually. Costs increased three percent over the last year, the highest since January. In April, the annual inflation rate was 2.3%, the minimum it has been since three years ago. The central bank’s goal inflation rate is two percent.