The number of applications for the federal hardship fund to support the self-employed has risen sharply in recent months. In October 2020, 83,000 entrepreneurs submitted an application, in November there were 110,000, in December 121,000, according to the figures from the Chamber of Commerce (WKÖ). More than 123 million euros were paid out for this in December. The completion rate was recently almost 100 percent.
Applications for the tenth funding month (December 16, 2020 to January 15, 2021) will start on Saturday, January 16. The WKÖ expects at least 50,000 self-employed to submit an application within five days. In total, the funding volume for the hardship fund has so far been 925 million euros, with an average of almost 1,200 euros per person per month.
“The accuracy of the hardship fund was only just shown again in December – due to the recent lockdown, there has been the highest number of applications so far,” said WKÖ General Secretary Karlheinz Kopf to the APA. The Chamber of Commerce has achieved many improvements in the hardship fund, such as the extension to 12 months or the increase through the comeback bonus.
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