Turkey has extended a ban on layoffs for two months from Jan. 17, according to a presidential decree published in the Official Gazette on Wednesday.

The ban was introduced earlier this year to limit the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on employment and the economy in general. The measure was first imposed in April for three months.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has the authority to extend it by at most three months each time until June 30, 2021.

Unemployment dipped to 12.7% in the September period as the economy heated up between the first and second COVID-19 waves, according to official data.

Turkey this month has also extended a short-term employment allowance benefit, a system that provides additional wages to employees whose hours are cut short. The deadline for new applications is Dec. 31, and it covers the following three months.

Erdoğan will also have the authority to decide for each sector, whether to extend the short-term employment allowance benefit.

Under the allowance, the government has paid 60% of staff salaries across the country.

Under its economic program, the Turkish government targets an unemployment rate of 11.8% for this year and predicts a gradual unemployment drop to 9.8% in 2022.