The number of people registered to lobby the federal government is continuing its steady decline, although that doesn't necessarily mean there are fewer people engaged in lobbying work, according to a recent analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics.

A total of 9,726 people were registered to lobby during the second quarter of 2016, the government watchdog group reported on its site OpenSecrets.org. That's the first time the number of registered lobbyists has dipped below 10,000 since 1998. The figure has been falling since it peaked at nearly 15,000 in 2007.

Several factors could be behind the decline, the report's authors said. President Barack Obama has put in place policies designed to curb lobbying. Gridlock in Congress also could be causing less demand for lobbyists. However, the most likely scenario is fewer people are registering even though they are continuing to do work that many people would consider lobbying.

"Pure and simple, the trend continues to be that people aren't considering themselves lobbyists," said Paul Miller, president of the National Institute of Lobbying and Ethics. "Some of that is retirement—a small number, I think—but for the most part, people are unregistering and not calling themselves lobbyists."

Total spending on lobbying has also dropped, decreasing to $1.6 billion so far this year from $1.65 billion at this point last year. The pharmaceutical and health products industry continues to throw the most money into lobbying, spending more than $61 million during the first quarter of the year. Associations came in second, spending $39 million in the same timeframe. http://bit.ly/2aZiTj9

MORE CEO DATELINE

• Psychiatric association to members: Stop diagnosing presidential candidates
• Newspaper association CEO criticizes comedian John Oliver
• U.S. Chamber challenges tax inversion rule in court
• Veterinarian association to allow non-vets to be top executives
• Associations monitoring Zika virus appearance in Florida