KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 30 — Some 61,382 companies have benefited from the Wage Subsidy Program 2.0 (PSU 2.0) since its implementation on October 1, Human Resource Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan told Parliament today.

The programme also helped those companies retain a total of 611,276 people in the workforce as at November 6, he added, citing data from the Social Security Organisation (Socso).

"A payment of RM122.19 million has been utilised by employers,’’he said in a written parliamentary reply to Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim who wanted to know how many companies have benefited from PSU 2.0.

Companies who are seeking aid to cushion the economic impact of Covid-19 have until December 31 this year to make their application under PSU 2.0.

The initial version of PSU started in March when the Perikatan Nasional coalition took federal power, replacing Pakatan Harapan.

Saravanan said the first version back in March saw a payout of RM12.21 billion to 331,950 employers and 2.7 million employees.