Franchise Biz Outlook Is Bleak In 2009
By Jack - Comments - January 8th, 2009
The nation’s franchise businesses are preparing for economic challenges in the New Year.
The industry is expected to experience a decline in the number of establishments, jobs and economic output in 2009, according to a report released today by the International Franchise Association’s Educational Foundation.
Despite this outlook, franchise business leaders remain cautiously optimistic about the prospects for their own businesses, the report found.
The Franchise Business Economic Outlook for 2009, prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, forecasts that the number of business format franchise establishments will decline in 2009 by 1.2 percent, from nearly 865,000 to less than 855,000 — a net loss of some 10,000 establishments.
Jobs in franchise businesses are expected to fall by 2.1 percent, for a loss of 207,000 jobs.
Overall economic output, the gross value of goods and services produced by franchise businesses, will likely decline by 0.5 percent — a loss of $4.2 billion in 2009.
