The International Monetary Fund has revised upwards its growth forecasts for Spain for this year and the next but predicts that employment will continue to deteriorate.
The IMF’s estimate for Spain’s GDP for 2013 has been improved from a contraction of 1.6% to a contraction of 1.3%, similar to the government’s forecast. For next year it is currently predicting output to grow by 0.2%, up from a previous forecast of zero growth. The Government, on the other hand, estimates GDP will improve by 0.7% in 2014.
However, the IMF sees little consolation for the six million people who remain without a job in Spain, predicting unemployment of 26.9% this year and 26.7% next year.