ANKARA: Turkey has extended a ban on lay-offs for two months from Jan. 17, a presidential decree published on the Official Gazette showed on Wednesday.

The ban was introduced this year to limit the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on employment and the economy in general.

President Tayyip Erdogan 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 coronavirus waves, according to official data.