As the chart shows, however, the range of job growth varied widely among types of membership organizations. By 1999, employment in religious organizations had increased 177 percent—more than 2½ times its 1979 level. Job growth in professional organizations nearly doubled, with an increase of 93 percent. Almost half the jobs in membership organizations were in civic and social associations, which showed a 60-percent increase in employment. Political organizations—the group with the fewest jobs—had a 42-percent growth rate, close to that for nonfarm employment. Membership organizations not elsewhere classified (39 percent of membership organization employment) and business associations (33 percent) both were below average in growth, while labor organization employment declined as union membership decreased over the 2 decades.