The number of people on furlough rose by 700,000 in January after tighter lockdown restrictions were imposed.
Treasury figures show a total of 4.7 million people were on the government scheme at the end of the month.
The hospitality sector, one of the hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis, furloughed 1.15 million people in January – an increase of 3%.
But the middle of February a total of £53.8bn had been claimed since the furlough scheme began last year.
The furlough data means that 16% of eligible workers were on the support scheme at the end of January.
In total, 11.2 million employees across the UK have been given furlough cash. The scheme pays up to 80% of salaries to those who cannot work because of Covid-19 restrictions.
Charlie McCurdy, researcher at the Resolution Foundation, said: “Furlough has once again played a crucial role in protecting incomes and keeping a lid on rising unemployment.
“But with almost five million workers still on furlough in the most recent data, our biggest labour market challenges may be ahead of, rather than behind, us.”
Separately, businesses took out a further £2.2bn of government-backed loans in the last month, according to Treasury figures.
The coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS) was most popular, with a further £1.2bn of loans awarded.
In total, nearly £73bn has been lent under the scheme and its two sister schemes – the coronavirus large business interruption loan scheme and the bounce back loan scheme.
Gender split
The furlough figures show that while 1.5 million workers using the scheme are employed by big companies, it is staff at small firms with between two and four employees who are most likely to be furloughed.
These companies filed claims for more than 620,000 staff, or 36% of those eligible to be furloughed. Among larger businesses with more than 250 employees, only 9% of eligible staff were furloughed – the lowest proportion.
On average, women are more likely than men to be furloughed, however in London and Northern Ireland the furlough rate among eligible male employees is higher than among women.
