Spain to create around 17,000 jobs in 2014

Spain will create around 17,000 job opportunities in 2014, Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE) said Wednesday. The CEOE, which revised up its economic predictions for Spain, said that employment would be created in the second quarter of 2014. In 2015, the situation of the country's labor market would be better and Spain would create around 150,000 job opportunities, it added. The number of people unemployed in Spain was forecast to drop to 5.76 million people in 2014 and 5.51 million in 2015. Spain's unemployment rate would go from 25.6 percent in 2014 to 24.6 percent in 2015. The number of people unemployed in Spain stood at 4.8 million in November according to the government, but the National Institute of Statistics (INE) reported a total of 5.9 million people unemployed in the third quarter of 2013. Earlier, the Spanish Saving Banks Association (Funcas) revised up its economic forecasts for Spain, expecting Spain's unemployment rate to fall to 25.4 percent in 2014 as opposed to the previous prediction of 25.8 percent. Both the CEOE and Funcas said that the country's economic situation was better than expected, which forced them to revise up its predictions. CEOE said domestic demand would increase more than expected in 2014, while exports would continue to grow. Spain's economy is forecast to grow by 0.9 percent in 2014 and by 1.6 percent in 2015. Investment in capital goods would increase by 6.2 percent in 2014, while families' spending would rise by 0.8 percent. However, public spending would fall by 1.3 percent. Meanwhile, exports would increase by 5.5 percent in 2014 and imports by 2.8 percent.