"The simplified lay-off covered 896,000 people in terms of processes that have been paid and already completed, covering about 110,000 companies," the minister.

On the other hand, "there were about 500 companies that saw their requests rejected," added Ana Mendes Godinho, explaining that the refusal happened "for reasons of debts that were not yet regularised."

The minister said that the support that followed the lay-off simplified in support of the progressive recovery and the incentive to normalize the activity currently covers 69,000 companies and 551,000 workers. "It is important to note that 82 percent of these situations are situations in which companies commit to maintain jobs longer, that is, during the six months of coverage of the measure two more months after the cessation of the measure," added Ana Mendes Godinho.

In response to CDS-PP Cecilia Meireles, the minister detailed that of the 69,000 companies covered by these two supports, 50,000 opted to encourage normalization and 19,000 for support for the recovery. Also, on the balance of measures to respond to covid-19, the Minister indicated that the program for strengthening human resources in the social sector of the Institute of Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP) covers 12,250 people.

The Minister of Labour also said that the extraordinary support of €438.81 for workers without social protection has already been paid to 17,000 people, while support for the self-employed has so far reached 173,000 beneficiaries.