U.S. franchise job gains hit their lowest levels in more than a year, ADP said Wednesday.
Private-sector franchises increased by 14,720 jobs in May, or 0.2 percent month-over-month, led by restaurants and auto parts and dealers. They rose by 15,580 in April.
"Franchise job gains in May continued to be sluggish and were the lowest since February of last year," said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and head of the ADP Research Institute. "However, Restaurants rebounded from negative territory in April to account for over half the franchise gains this month," she said in a statement.
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Restaurant franchise jobs rose by 8,600 last month, a 0.2 percent rise, after dropping 0.3 percent in April. Auto parts and dealers jobs grew by 2,360, a monthly uptick of 0.2 percent.
Food retailers, on the other hand, saw the biggest monthly rise out of all the listed sectors, rising by 1,370, or 0.7 percent in May.
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Leisure and professional services franchise jobs contracted the most, after losing 0.8 percent and 0.6 percent jobs month over month, respectively.