Some 30,000 people in Lithuania have lost their jobs during the coronavirus crisis, said Social Security and Labour Minister Linas Kukuraitis, adding that there are now 190,000 unemployed people in the country.
"Since March 16, when the quarantine was introduced, registered unemployed has risen from 9.3 to 11.1 percent, meaning that around 30,000 additional people have registered as unemployed," the minister said on Tuesday.
Read more: Retail workers hit hardest by quarantine in Lithuania
A total of 265,000 people in Lithuania are now looking for a job, Kukuraitis said, and a growing number of self-employed people are joining their ranks.
Lithuanian workers already paid €16m in subsidies
Some 53,000 self-employed people who have lost all or part of their revenue during the coronavirus crisis have already received state subsidies, Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis said on Tuesday.
They have been paid almost 7 million euros, and employers who have asked for subsidies for employees placed on temporary leave have received another 9 million euros.
"We have estimated that this payout [to self-employed people] could amount to 36 million euros per month and around 140,000 self-employed people could apply for it," the prime minister said on Tuesday.
The prime minister underlined, however, that not all self-employed people will receive the payouts.
"There are businesses and self-employed people who have not been affected by the crisis and additional opportunities to work, earn and not to apply for assistance have emerged for them," Skvernelis said.
Self-employed people will receive 257 euros per month during the quarantine.
Some 8,500 employers who have declared downtime for their staff have asked for subsidies to support 54,000 people, despite the fact that almost 300,000 people have been furloughed, according to Skvernelis
A total of 1.14 billion euros are allocated for subsidies, he said.
LRT English Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
