MADRID, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Spain's economy is likely to grow by 2.8 percent in 2017, according to projections published on Wednesday by the Spanish employers' organization (CEOE).
The figure meant a 0.3-percentage-point increase, compared with previous forecasts published by the institution.
The organization highlighted the good performance of the economy in the first quarter of the year, emphasizing that the situation of employment is improving with a rise in the number of people affiliated to the social security system in April.
The number of people affiliated increased by 212,216 in the fourth month of the year since March to a total of 18.1 million people.
The organization said that data showed that the economy was more dynamic in the first part of the year, adding that "all available information for the second quarter, especially confidence indicators, lead to a good performance of the Spanish economy".
CEOE's new forecast was in line with those predicted by the Bank of Spain and the European Commission, both of which predicted a 2.8-percent growth for 2017. The Spanish government predicted a 2.7-percent growth. Enditem
