The Republican-led Michigan Senate on Thursday approved several bills aimed at shoring up Michigan's unemployment benefits fund, although Democrats said one of the measures could make it harder for the jobless to get and keep their benefits.

Workers in the south and west have the lowest participation levels in employment-based retirement plans, while workers in the upper Midwest, mid-Atlantic and northeast had the highest levels, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

With only 20 percent of small businesses offering retirement plans, financial advisors are missing out on a lucrative opportunity.

Senate Republicans on Thursday defeated a plan by President Barack Obama to renew a temporary cut in the Social Security payroll tax, even as all sides on Capitol Hill continue to promise an eventual compromise on a tax holiday before Congress leaves Washington for Christmas.

The U.S. unemployment rate fell last month to its lowest level in more than two and a half years, as employers stepped up hiring in response to the slowly improving economy.

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