In today’s rundown: The local unemployment rate falls. | Montgomery County finalizes its budget. | The D.C. soda tax dies.
— Unemployment rates fell in a majority of states, including Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia last month, according to numbers released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics earlier today. Despite the improvements, D.C.’s 11 percent unemployment rate is still higher than the national average — 9.9 percent. Click here for all of the data.
— The Montgomery County Council has finalized their $4.3 billion budget, which cuts overall spending and includes a plan to furlough officers and fire fighters. Click here for budget details.
— A plan to tax sodas in D.C. has stalled. Council member Mary Cheh, who proposed the tax, expected it to raise up to $9 million that would largely be spent on health initiatives in local schools. Click here for more.
