FRANdata last week released its Franchise Business Economic Outlook 2020 and predicted that the franchise industry will continue with its economic boom throughout this year. The report, done in conjunction with the International Franchise Association (IFA), projects a 1.5% increase in the number of franchises, growing to over 785,000 by year-end. In addition, it projects 2.8% employment growth to 8.67 million workers and franchise output to almost $820 billion, a jump of 4.1%. And, revisiting the US Bureau of Labor Statistics report for January we see that average hourly earnings for all employees increased during the first month of the year by a net 0.1 percent, while year over year hourly earnings were up 0.6 percent.