(RTTNews) - First time claims for unemployment benefits showed a modest decrease in the week ended January 23rd, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday, although economists had been expecting a more substantial decrease. The report showed that initial jobless claims slipped to 470,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 478,000. Economists had been expecting jobless claims to fall to 450,000 from the 482,000 originally reported for the previous week.