Real Estate Franchise Jobs Down, Restaurants Back Up in May

ROSELAND, N.J.— Private businesses added 201,000 jobs in May. Franchise jobs only added 14,700 jobs, according to researcher ADP and Moody's Analytics.

It grew in May over April hirings at roughly the same rate as small business hirings of 0.2 percent. Small businesses, which are defined as under 50 employees, recruited 121,760 new jobs in May.

Among luke warm franchise hirings, real estate dealers shed 400 jobs while food retailers and restaurant franchises were among the highest gainers in May.

"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."

In regard to the entire economy, Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics, said that the 201,000 private-sector hirings continued a positive sign for the economy. "Employment growth remains near the average of the past couple of years," says the economist. "At the current pace of job growth the economy will be back to full employment by this time next year.  The only blemishes are the decline in mining jobs due to the collapse in oil prices and the decline in manufacturing due to the strong dollar."

As of April, the unemployment rate for the United States was down to 5.4 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.