Automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM), business services, renewables and consumer products firms are among the biggest job creators in the Americas in the first half of 2014, according to data from greenfield investment monitor, fDi Markets. FDI and intra-state investments led to the creation of 96,174 jobs in Northern America in the year to June.

Petersen Dean, a North California-headquartered solar roofing solution provider, has created the most jobs in the region in 2014. In March, the company announced a plan to launch five new facilities in Texas, Colorado, North Carolina, Georgia and Washington, creating an estimated 4000 jobs by 2017. Korean car manufacturer Kia Motors also accounted for a significant number of new jobs. In May, the company announced its plan to invest $500m into an assembly plant in the Mexican city of Monterrey. The new operation is expected to create 3000 direct jobs.

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Further south, in central America, the total number of jobs created through FDI this year so far is estimated at 7782. Hanesbrands, a US-based clothing company, Gildan Activewear, a Canadian clothing company, and Convergys, a US-based consumer management accounted for nearly two-thirds of all jobs created in the region by FDI this year.

In March 2014, Hanesbrands allocated $2.2m to a new plant in Honduras. The new facility will be the company's 10th in the country and is expected to create 2500 jobs. Meanwhile, Gildan plans to hire 1200 new workers by 2016 in its new facility in Guanacaste, in north-west Costa Rica. Convergys has also invested in Costa Rica and has a plan to add 700 new employees to two of its existing call centres in the country. Additionally, in April, the company created 250 openings in its Honduras-based call centre.

South America and the Caribbean saw 22,779 jobs created in the first half of 2014. The list of the biggest job creators is topped by shared services firm Allus Global BP Centre and multichannel customer experience firm Teleperformance. Allus, a subsidiary of Oi, Brazil's largest telecommunications company, plans to hire 2100 employees in its new service centre in the Colombian city of Medellin. The same city also acquired a $10m investment from France-based Teleperformance, which plans to increase its Colombian headcount by 1500 employees.

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