Spain will grow “close to one percent” in 2014, says economy minister
De Guindos claims measures yet to be unveiled will lead country to situation of net job creation
Economy Minister Luis de Guindos predicted on Tuesday that Spain will end the year with “close” to a one-percent growth rate and, for the first time since the crisis broke, will create jobs.
Speaking in Brussels, De Guindos said the government’s reforms were on the right track even though there was “still much to be done” in order to bring down a 26-percent unemployment rate.
“Spain has once again become a competitive country,” he said.
With respect to his positive growth forecast — the government’s official prediction is that Spain’s GDP will grow by 0.7 percent in 2014, the minister explained that new stimulus measures would be announced in April that should spark the economy further.
“2014 will be the first year that Spain will grow close to one percent and create net employment,” he said during an IMF book presentation.
