INDIANAPOLIS -- Lawmakers were talking again at the Statehouse on Monday, but they still don't appear to be moving toward any kind of compromise on key bills they hope to resolve before adjourning this week.

The key to the legislative logjam is the unemployment tax bill, 6News' Norman Cox reported.

Business lobbyists say if the state doesn't delay the tax hike on their members, many of them will be forced to lay off even more workers.

But Democrats want to add a number of other provisions to help workers, such as hiring preferences for Indiana workers on jobs created by state tax incentives, an increase in weekly benefits and making it harder for companies to reclassify employees as contractors so they can avoid paying their unemployment.

"We have worked to try and find compromise where we believe that compromise is possible," said Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Monticello.

Senate Republicans say they have included 13 specific demands by House Democrats in their latest compromise proposal.

"I think that what this shows is that we've gone a long way beyond the basic bill, which is just to deal with the tax rate," said Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville.

But Democrats say it isn't enough and that the bill right now just helps business.

"That by itself does nothing whatsoever to address the needs of in excess of 300,000 unemployed Hoosiers that are without work," said Rep. David Niezgodski, D-South Bend. "It expresses nothing towards our jobless workers in the state of Indiana, and we owe it to them to give them more."

Meanwhile, talks continued Monday on the governor's efficiency package, township reorganization and funding flexibility for schools, without visible progress on any of those topics.

The General Assembly must adjourn by Sunday.