WASHINGTON, Nov 18, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A key Federal Reserve official said Monday that he supports a third consecutive interest rate cut by the US central bank in December, as the jobs market remains weak and is almost stalling.

"My focus is on the labor market, and after months of weakening, it is unlikely that the September jobs report later this week or any other data that's going to come out in the next few weeks is going to change my view that another cut is in order," said Fed Governor Christopher Waller at a London dinner.

Waller is among a handful of candidates seen as potential successors to Fed Chair Jerome Powell when his term at the helm of the US central bank ends in May 2026.

He told the event Monday that although businesses were in a "no hire, no fire mode" around four to six weeks ago, they are now starting to plan for layoffs.

He added that a December cut will "provide additional insurance" against an acceleration in labor market weakening, adding that he backs another 25 basis points reduction.

After holding interest rates steady for most of the year, the Fed started lowering the benchmark lending rate in September and again in October.

But Powell said last month that another cut at its December policy meeting was not a "foregone conclusion."

Waller argued that lowering rates further is a matter of "risk management," adding that the labor market is "still weak and near stall speed."

He added that President Donald Trump's tariffs this year appear to be having a "one-off effect" and are not likely to be a persistent source of inflation.

Waller stressed as well that even as a booming stock market supports spending by "a narrow band of well-off consumers, it does not reflect financial conditions for most Americans, and that is a vulnerability for the economy."

He expects that even after excluding the temporary effects of a lengthy US government shutdown, real gross domestic product (GDP) growth likely slowed in the second half of 2025.

Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson sounded more cautious earlier Monday, saying in a separate speech that the changing balance of risks "underscores the need to proceed slowly" in rate adjustments.