Michigan officials say employers paying into the unemployment benefits system generally will face lower bills than they would have otherwise because of steps to pay off debt owed to the federal government.

But officials noted Friday that employers will face a yearly assessment to repay bonds. The repayment starts with a base of $42 per worker but escalates from there based on an employer's experience with the agency.

Michigan sold bonds in December to pay off more than $3 billion borrowed from the federal government since 2007 to cover unemployment benefits.

The move will eliminate some interest and penalties that businesses otherwise would have been required to pay related to the federal loan. Those include an assessment of $233 per worker that could have been charged this year.