Scott Horsley

The unemployment rate's been inching higher.

Fed Governor Chris Waller has been saying for months now that the warning signs are flashing on the job market and the central bank should lower interest rates to prevent a further deterioration.

The Fed is widely expected to cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point today.

The central bank's hoping to cushion a sagging job market, but policymakers are also keeping a watchful eye on inflation.

The Labor Department said this morning that private sector wages and salaries rose 3.6 percent during the 12 months ending in September.

During that same period, prices rose by 3 percent.

Stock in Cracker Barrel is down after the restaurant chain reported a drop in sales and lowered its forecast for the year.

Cracker Barrel is still trying to recover from an unpopular and short-lived logo change back in August.

Pepsi shares are up after the soft drink and snack maker announced plans to cut prices and narrow its product mix.

Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

The Fed has cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point at each of its last two meetings, and investors expect another quarter point cut today as the central bank tries to prop up a sagging job market.

Not everyone on the rate-setting committee agrees, however, that another reduction is warranted.

Hawkish committee members are more concerned about stubbornly high inflation and may vote to hold interest rates steady.

The Fed is working with less information than usual since the six-week government shutdown prevented federal workers from collecting data on inflation and unemployment in October.

November's numbers have also been delayed until next week.

Too late to guide Fed policymakers in their decision today.

Scott Horsley in Pear News, Washington.

Good morning.

We have seen a real slowdown in the job market in recent months, and a number of Fed policymakers are very concerned about that.

Over the summer, we saw a net loss of jobs in both June and August.