Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday emphasized that a sharp slowdown in hiring poses a growing risk to the U.S. economy, a sign that the central bank will likely cut its key interest rate twice more this year.

Powell, who spoke today before the National Association of Business Economics in Philadelphia, said that despite the federal government shutdown cutting off official economic data, "the outlook for employment and inflation does not appear to have changed much since our September meeting," when the Fed reduced its key rate for the first time this year.

Fed officials at the September meeting also forecast that the central bank would reduce its rate twice more this year and once in 2026. Lower rates from the Fed could reduce borrowing costs for consumer and b

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