U.S. franchise job gains hit the lowest levels last month since July 2014, due in large part to a drop in restaurant employment, according to the ADP National Franchise Report.
Private-sector franchise jobs rose by 15,580 or 0.2 percent during April.
"In a tale of two industries, auto parts and dealers experienced a surge in hiring, while restaurants shed a large number of jobs," wrote Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and head of the ADP Research Institute, in a release.
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Auto parts and dealers franchise jobs rose by 20,190 or 1.6 percent during the month, contributing the biggest gains to the total number of franchise jobs added.
Meanwhile, restaurant franchise jobs fell 0.3 percent during the month or by 11,470. Year-over-year, though, the industry's employment is up 3.2 percent.
ADP mines its payroll data to determine the monthly changes in franchise employment.