Over the past five years, the franchise sector has posted annual job growth of nearly 2% higher than all businesses industry-wide, and franchise industry leaders expect the positive momentum to continue.
“We expect to post robust numbers this year, but these projections will depend on the overall legislative environment,” says Robert Cresanti, president and CEO of the International Franchise Association. “We have an incredible number of regulations that are just coming to roost in the industry…There's still a lot of digesting going on.”
Below are the projected top 5 franchise industry segments for the upcoming year as well as the states where franchising is projected to grow the most in 2017. All projections below are compiled from the IFA’s annual Franchise Business Economic Outlook report.
Top 10 Franchises by Establishment Growth 2017 with Projected Growth Rate
- Personal Services: 2.3%
- Quick Service Restaurants: 1.9%
- Table/Full Service Restaurants: 1.9%
- Retail Products and Services: 1.7%
- Business Services: 1.5%
Top 10 States for Franchise Employment Growth 2017 with Projected Growth Rate
- Arizona: 4.7%
- Utah: 4.6%
- Nevada: 4.4%
- Florida: 4.1%
- Colorado: 4.1%
- South Carolina: 4.0%
- North Carolina: 3.8%
- Georgia: 3.8%
- Tennessee: 3.8%
- Texas: 3.6%
In general, franchise employment in the U.S. is projected to increase by 3.3% to 7.8 million workers, which would be an addition of 250,000 new jobs.
The overall U.S. franchise industry is expected to expand by 1.6% in 2017, which is nearly identical to the 1.7% growth rate posted in 2016. If realized, the result will be an increase of approximately 11,500 establishments.