But that rate lags behind the gains of nearly every other large restaurant chain.

Though the jobless rate typically lags behind other indicators of the economy's health, its upward creep, he said, could limit consumers' appetites for new spending.

Blacks are catching up; their rate of use lagged whites' by 10 percentage points in 1996, but is now only 4 points behind, the department said last month when it released a report by independent experts.

But that does not mean it is simple: The economy's rate of job creation still lags behind the growth necessary to keep up with all the men and women who attempt to enter the work force each month.

The schemes have however not been very successful because the rate of poverty reduction lags behind the rapid population growth rate.

Federal Reserve data show that bank savings account balances - including the money market accounts - have declined very slowly even while their rates lagged the competition.

Still, the rate of foreign investment in Ukraine still lags behind other former Soviet republics.

I believe that rigid sets of rules create hierarchies and centralism and that the rate of modernization lags behind.

The rate of complications, minor or serious, lagged far behind historical averages, in part because government officials were careful not to inoculate people who were at high risk of having adverse reactions.

Throughout the recovery, the rate of job creation has lagged the rate typical of past economic cycles.