WASHINGTON – Unemployment rates fell in 35 states in December, including Maryland, according to the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The jobless rate also fell in the District and was unchanged in Virginia.

Nationally, the unemployment rate in December was 8.5 percent, down 0.9 percent from December 2010.

In the District, the unemployment rate in December was 10.4 percent, down from 10.6 percent in November, but higher than the 9.6 percent jobless rate in D.C. a year earlier.

Maryland’s unemployment rate was 6.7 percent in December, down from 6.9 percent in November and down from 7.4 percent a year ago. Virginia’s unemployment rate was 6.2 percent in December, unchanged from the previous month, and down from 6.6 percent in December 2010.

The highest unemployment rate in the nation remains in Nevada, at 12.6 percent. North Dakota remains the state with the lowest unemployment rate, at 3.3 percent.