Macey's Bistro owner Peter Walsh says it has been a difficult time for his staff

The Federal Government announced on Tuesday that it will cut the wage subsidy for full-time workers to $1200 a fortnight and part-time workers to $750 down from the current rate of $1500.

The scheme is being extended to March 2021, but for the last quarter it will be revised down to $1000 for full-time workers and $650 for part-time. Part-time workers are defined as those with 20 hours of work a week or less.

Macey's Bistro owner Peter 'Cork' Walsh said the JobKeeper payments had ensured he could "keep the doors open."

He said about 30 staff had been receiving JobKeeper payments.

"It has been a great help for us and our staff," he said.

"More so for our workers and their welfare.

"It has been a shocking time. This gives them some assurance."

Mr Walsh said it had been a very challenging time for staff.

"It does play on people's minds," he said.

"It's not like they can do anything else either.

"We may not have made any money but it has allowed us to keep our doors open.

"The staff want to be back at work. We've rostered them to about 25-30 hours. Which has been good to get them out of the house."

Seanchai Irish Pub co-owner Josh O'Dowd said about 14 staff had been receiving JobKeeper due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He said without the scheme his business would not have been able to continue to operate.

Mr O'Dowd said he didn't think his pub would return to 'normal', with crowds filling the venue, until a vaccine was developed.

"Hopefully people take it seriously," he said.

"We're lucky to still be open. Hospitality businesses are under a lot of stress."

Federal government data showed in Wannon the number of people receiving JobSeeker payments rose from 5747 in March to 8649 in May.

On Tuesday the Federal Government announced that people who had lost their job during the pandemic would have their payments cut back to about $800 a fortnight from September until the end of the year under the JobSeeker scheme.