The support has helped preserve 117,000 workplaces, he said. 

The government offered to cover half of gross wages of businesses that have been hit the hardest by the pandemic as it tightened restrictions and introduced a curfew in November. It also exempted those businesses from payroll tax, effectively subsidising two-thirds of payroll costs.

Bodó said 44% of the subsidies have gone to small businesses, 31% to microbusinesses, 19% to mid-sized enterprises, and 6% to big companies. Close to 60% of the support has gone to catering companies, he added.

The largest number of applications have come from Budapest and Pest County, and from Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Veszprém County in the northwest of the country.

Bodó noted that the wage support is being extended to further sectors impacted by a two-week shutdown of non-essential businesses in March. That wider eligibility is expected to preserve another 100,000 workplaces, he added.