November 18, 2003 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Employment change in membership organizations

The nonprofit business of promoting group affiliation and goals created about 363,000 new jobs between 1979 and 1999. Employment in membership organizations increased from about 698,000 in 1979 to about 1,061,000 in 1999.

[Chart data—TXT]

As the chart shows, however, the range of job growth varied widely among types of membership organizations. Religious organizations and professional organizations had the fastest employment growth. By 1999, employment in religious organizations had increased 177 percent—to more than 2½ times its 1979 level. Job growth in professional organizations nearly doubled, with an increase of 93 percent.

For additional information, see "Employment change in membership organizations, 1979-99," Occupational Outlook Quarterly, Summer 2001.