New US claims for unemployment benefits rose slightly more than expected last week, the Labor Department said today. Jobless claims rose to 409,000 for the week ending January 1, from the prior week's upwardly revised figure of 391,000. Last week's numbers were slightly higher than the 405,000 claims expected by most economists. Despite the rise, claims remained near levels seen in 2008, before the depths of the economic crisis. Around 8.8 million Americans currently claim unemployment benefits