Jan. unemployment dipped in D.C., Md., Va. Unemployment levels dropped in the District, Maryland and Virginia in January, the Labor Department reported Tuesday, illustrating a recovery beginning to take hold across the nation. Virginia's rate dropped the most among the three local jurisdictions - tumbling 0.3 point to 5.8 percent. The District's rate decreased 0.2 percent to 10.1 percent, and Maryland's fell 0.1 percent to 6.5 percent. The unemployment rate fell in 45 states and the District and remained steady in four states. New York is the only state that recorded an increase. The survey of employers showed steady gains in the professional and business services, especially in Virginia, which gained 3,200. While the District lost 100 professional and business services jobs in January, Maryland gained 400. Officials at Fairfax-based IT firm CGI Federal said they hired 195 employees in metropolitan Washington in the first quarter of its 2012 fiscal year, a 49 percent increase over the same period in 2011. In the second quarter, which started in January, the company said it hired 145 workers in this area. "What you see is a bump up in [government] awards toward the end of the year," said Donna Ryan, president of CGI Federal. The company, officials said, is ramping up for government contracts, including the development of a health insurance exchange and work on moving computer services at the Departments of Labor and Homeland Security into the cloud. Another Labor Department report released recently showed that not-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rates fell in the vast majority of the nearly 20 counties and cities encompassing the Washington region during the 12-month period ending in December 2011. Unemployment levels from that survey ranged from 3.6 percent in Arlington County to 10.2 percent in the District. Jobless rates rose in the District to 10.2 percent from 9.2 percent; in Fairfax City, 6.2 percent from 5.2 percent; and Falls Church, to 6.7 percent from 5.7 percent. It remained steady at 4.2 percent in Loudoun County and at 6.5 percent in Manassas Park. In January, D.C."s jobless level surpassed the nation's 8.3 percent unemployment rate for that month, while Virginia and Maryland fell below it. Nevada had the highest jobless rate in the nation - 12.7 percent. North Dakota had the lowest - 3.2 percent.