FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Alisa Harrison, 202-628-8000
Matthew Haller, 202-662-0770
aharrison@franchise.org
mhaller@franchise.org
@franchising411
IFA STATEMENT ON MARCH JOBS REPORT
WASHINGTON, April 6, 2012 – International Franchise Association President & CEO Steve Caldeira released the following statement today following the Labor Department employment report for March, showing that 120,000 new jobs were created and the unemployment rate increased from 8.2 percent to 8.3 percent:
“With the unemployment rate rising to 8.3 percent, it is clear the economy is still struggling to reach a full blown recovery. While the previous few months had shown positive signs, the March forecast reflects the underlying concerns franchise businesses are facing in order to create jobs at pre-recession levels.
“IFA’s latest Franchise Business Index showed an increase of 0.3 percent in February to 107.7, the sixth consecutive monthly gain, so clearly the franchise industry is doing better than it was a year ago. While the index shows we are moving in the right direction, the monthly jobs report released today shows franchise businesses still face challenges accessing the credit necessary to meet the forecasted demands which would further enable job creation. More certainty in the tax and regulatory environments would help franchise businesses grow faster, and would be critical to spurring additional job creation in our industry this year.”
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About the International Franchise Association
The International Franchise Association is the world’s oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. Celebrating over 50 years of excellence, education and advocacy, IFA works through its government relations and public policy, media relations and educational programs to protect, enhance and promote franchising. Through its media awareness campaign highlighting the theme, Franchising: Building Local Businesses, One Opportunity at a Time, IFA promotes the economic impact of the more than 825,000 franchise establishments, which support nearly 18 million jobs and $2.1 trillion of economic output for the U.S. economy. IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees and companies that support the industry in marketing, law and business development.