Key findings from the report, “Identifying & Addressing Today’s Labor Trends,” include:

• Availability of qualified labor remains the most important problem facing franchise businesses today, continued from 2022. 87% of franchisors report their franchisees have had difficulty filling openings for unskilled labor, skilled labor, or both (in comparison with 88% in 2022).
• 81% of franchise brands experienced constrained growth due to labor challenges, continued from 2022.
• Franchising continues to remain a source of job growth. 34% of franchisors experienced an increase in employment, while 45% of franchisors reported unchanged employment numbers. More than half of all franchisors expect total franchised business employment to increase.
• Wage pressure is considerable but lessening. 85% of franchised businesses increased wages in the last six months of 2022, and 60% anticipate continued increases in 2023. Over the last 6 months, 43% of franchised businesses reported benefit increases, and 42% anticipate continued increases.

Franchising is unique in that individual business owners have a stronger network of support – both from their brand and other franchisees to address today’s labor challenges. Franchisors have taken a number of actions to help their franchisees, including:

• Providing more resources and hiring corporate recruiters to assist franchisees in recruitment
• Creating a “Recruiting Fund” to pool resources for all franchisees
• Additional investments in digital and social media advertising to help drive applicants
• Streamlining the system for posting, applicant processing, and automated applicant process
• Giving royalty rebates for hiring of sales staff
• Testing AI job boards