Spanish companies to create 32,000 jobs in 2014

Some 100 Spanish companies plan to create more than 32,000 direct job opportunities next year thanks to the improvement of Spain's economic situation, according to media reports.

Thousands of indirect jobs will also be created, Xinhua cited report from the economic newspaper Expansion.

Spain is suffering from high unemployment with over 4.8 million people unemployed in November, according to the government, while around 50 percent of the youth are without a job.

The report said the new job creation will focus on sectors such as consumer goods, new technologies and the automotive industry, thanks to new models of cars assigned to Spanish plants for manufacturing.

Renault will create about 1,300 jobs within three years in Spain, while Nissan will hire 1,000 workers for its plant in Barcelona.

Companies like Inditex, whose most famous brand is Zara, will open a centre in Guadalajara where it aims to create 500 jobs. A further 400 will be created in Arteixo in the northwest of Spain after Zara and Zara Home's expansions.

Growth in private consumption will help IKEA and supermarkets such as Carrefour or Mercadona increase their workforces.

Mercadona expects to create 1,000 jobs after the opening of 26 supermarkets within six years in the Basque region, while IKEA plans to create about 400 direct and 500 indirect jobs in Valencia, after establishing a new store.

Carrefour will create about 1,500 jobs for young people, while Nestle will also bet on youth employment, creating 1,250 jobs for the youth in the next three years as part of a programme that aims to create 20,000 jobs for young people throughout Europe.

The Spanish economy grew by 0.1 percent in the third quarter of this year and the government expects to consolidate this recovery in 2014.

The Spanish Minister of Finance Cristobal Montoro said Monday at the Spanish parliament that Spain could grow by more than 0.7 percent next year.