HONOLULU -- A state House committee on Tuesday gave first-round approval to two proposals to try to reduce a tax hike many businesses said will either force them to close or to lay off more employees.

If nothing is done by March, many employers will have to pay a more than 1,000 percent increase in their unemployment taxes.

Employers called it a good first step, but some said the reductions are not enough.

Small business owners and large employers said the effect hitting them with such a huge tax hike in one year will be devastating. The tax goes from the current $90 employers pay per worker to more than $1,000 per employee.

"It frankly comes down to a loss of jobs. The more you pay in insurance the less you have to pay for employees. So we are very concerned that unless something is done we could lose up to 5,000 jobs in this economy, and we can't afford to do that right now," Hawaii Chamber of Commerce President Jim Tollefson said.

Many bills will be considered in the weeks ahead. The bills considered on Tuesday lessened the hike to 60 percent for two years.

"It is still a substantial increase. It is over six times, but it is better than the 10 times we were talking about before," House Labor Committee Chairman Rep. Karl Rhoads said.