FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Matthew Haller, 202-662-0770

Jenna Weisbord, 202-662-0766

mhaller@franchise.org

jweisbord@franchise.org

IFA STATEMENT ON APRIL JOBS REPORT

WASHINGTON, May 3, 2013—International Franchise Association President & CEO Steve Caldeira released the following statement today regarding the April jobs report showing the economy created 165,000 jobs in April, lowering the unemployment rate to a four-year low of 7.5 percent.

“Franchise businesses continue to drive job creation led by professional and business services, restaurants and retail. We still believe the rate of growth could be accelerated if Congress were to address the major issues on the minds of the small business community, such as long term tax rates which continue to rise for individuals.

“We also remain concerned about the continued drop in average workers hours per week, which may be a result of the impact of the health care law as employers add more part-time workers to avoid the employer mandate.”

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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.