Today’s decision to hold the federal funds rate steady is a clear vote of confidence in a labor market that while gradually cooling, has remained remarkably resilient. Keeping rates unchanged also signals a “wait and see” approach from a data-dependent Federal Reserve anxious to see any potential effects — positive or negative — of proposed policy shifts around immigration, trade, and geopolitics that may yet impact the US labor market. Limiting immigration and enacting broad tariffs on a range of nations and goods, as proposed, have historically had an inflationary effect. Any sustained uptick in inflation may spur the Fed to keep interest rates higher for longer, potentially denting consumer spending power and delaying key business investments.