Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

News Release Information

23-128-ATL
Friday, February 03, 2023

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (404) 893-4220

Union Members in Kentucky — 2022

In 2022, union members accounted for 7.9 percent of wage and salary workers in Kentucky, compared with 7.2 percent in 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that the union membership rate for the state was at its peak with an average of 14.8 percent in 1989, the first year state data became available, and at its low point in 2021 at 7.2 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Nationwide, union members accounted for 10.1 percent of employed wage and salary workers in 2022. The rate was down from 10.3 percent in 2021, primarily the result of a disproportionately large increase in the number of total wage and salary employment compared with the increase in the number of union members. The 2022 unionization rate (10.1 percent) is the lowest on record.


Kentucky had 141,000 union members in 2022. In addition to these members, another 44,000 wage and salary workers in Kentucky were represented by a union on their main job or covered by an employee association or contract while not union members themselves.

Table A. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers in Kentucky, annual averages, 2012–2022 (numbers in thousands)
YearTotal employedMembers of unions (1)Represented by unions (2)
TotalPercent of employedTotalPercent of employed

2012

1,74217410.019811.4

2013

1,73519411.222613.0

2014

1,71418911.021912.8

2015

1,70518711.020712.1

2016

1,71019011.122813.4

2017

1,8101749.623212.8

2018

1,8121618.920711.4

2019

1,7861448.01699.5

2020

1,6941277.51609.4

2021

1,7401267.21709.8

2022

1,7911417.918510.3

Footnotes:
(1) Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
(2) Data refer to both union members and workers who report no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.

Note: Data refer to the sole or principal job of full- and part-time wage and salary workers. All self-employed workers are excluded, both those with incorporated businesses as well as those with unincorporated businesses. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

Nationwide, 14.3 million wage and salary workers were union members in 2022 and 1.7 million wage and salary workers were not affiliated with a union but had jobs covered by a union contract. The number of wage and salary workers belonging to unions (14.3 million) was up by 273,000 from 2021.

In 2022, 30 states and the District of Columbia had union membership rates below that of the U.S. average, 10.1 percent, while 19 states had rates above it and 1 state (New Hampshire) had the same rate. (See table 1.) Eleven states had union membership rates below 5.0 percent in 2022. South Carolina had the lowest rate (1.7 percent), followed by North Carolina (2.8 percent) and South Dakota (3.1 percent). Two states had union membership rates over 20.0 percent in 2022: Hawaii (21.9 percent) and New York (20.7 percent). (See chart 2.)


Technical Note

The estimates in this release are obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), which provides basic information on the labor force, employment, and unemployment. The survey is conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau from a scientifically selected national sample of about 60,000 eligible households. The union membership data are tabulated from one-quarter of the CPS monthly sample and are limited to wage and salary workers. All self-employed workers are excluded.

Beginning in January of each year, data reflect revised population controls used in the CPS. Additional information about population controls is available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#pop.

Information about the reliability of data from the CPS and guidance on estimating standard errors is available at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#reliability.

Definitions

The principal definitions used in this release are described briefly below.

Union members. Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.

Union membership rate. Data refer to the proportion of total wage and salary workers who are union members.

Represented by unions. Data refer to both union members and workers who report no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.

Wage and salary workers. Workers who receive wages, salaries, commissions, tips, payment in kind, or piece rates. The group includes employees in both the private and public sectors. Union membership and earnings data exclude all self-employed workers, both those with incorporated businesses as well as those with unincorporated businesses.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by state, 2021-2022 annual averages (numbers in thousands)
State20212022
Total
employed
Members of unions(1)Represented by
unions(2)
Total
employed
Members of unions(1)Represented by
unions(2)
TotalPercent
of
employed
TotalPercent
of
employed
TotalPercent
of
employed
TotalPercent
of
employed

Alabama

1,9381155.91336.92,0661497.21738.4

Alaska

2934615.85017.22984816.05217.3

Arizona

3,1161675.42086.73,0611695.51896.2

Arkansas

1,167463.9514.41,204594.9685.7

California

15,4972,46815.92,75717.816,2402,61716.12,85617.6

Colorado

2,5381656.51927.52,6721786.72017.5

Connecticut

1,52422314.624816.31,65823614.225615.4

Delaware

435429.74410.2442388.5429.4

District of Columbia

350318.9359.9331309.13410.4

Florida

8,6674485.25296.19,1004144.55115.6

Georgia

4,4042114.82565.84,5212004.42445.4

Hawaii

54112122.413124.157212521.913423.4

Idaho

767364.7425.5825394.7495.9

Illinois

5,39775213.981815.25,61173513.178914.1

Indiana

2,8442569.029010.23,0232237.42608.6

Iowa

1,428936.51188.31,5061057.01328.7

Kansas

1,3001209.214811.41,3181299.816012.1

Kentucky

1,7401267.21709.81,7911417.918510.3

Louisiana

1,722814.7985.71,801764.2945.2

Maine

5637012.48314.7527489.26111.5

Maryland

2,68929511.033212.32,81632711.637213.2

Massachusetts

3,18140212.643313.63,24141312.744713.8

Michigan

4,04754013.362015.34,21258914.064415.3

Minnesota

2,60841616.044617.12,69738214.241115.2

Mississippi

1,080595.5746.91,102625.6797.2

Missouri

2,6152359.026610.22,6812579.628410.6

Montana

4384911.25612.94665211.25712.3

Nebraska

896616.8728.0923606.5748.1

Nevada

1,24915312.217614.11,28714611.316412.8

New Hampshire

6436510.17311.36877010.17711.2

New Jersey

3,76260816.267217.94,16161914.966616.0

New Mexico

770587.5709.1806718.88610.6

New York

7,7701,72922.21,86924.18,1241,67920.71,79522.1

North Carolina

4,2251082.61423.44,4091252.81733.9

North Dakota

349195.4246.9365236.4287.6

Ohio

4,96659612.064713.04,98964112.869914.0

Oklahoma

1,546875.61056.81,587885.51137.1

Oregon

1,78431817.833618.81,81028115.530516.9

Pennsylvania

5,38069312.973213.65,62871512.776713.6

Rhode Island

4747515.78317.45058116.18917.7

South Carolina

2,070341.7422.02,050351.7402.0

South Dakota

393164.0205.0412133.1174.2

Tennessee

2,8201455.21665.92,9311635.51846.3

Texas

12,0574543.85714.712,4965184.16435.1

Utah

1,465513.5966.51,540603.91338.7

Vermont

2623212.33714.22843412.13813.4

Virginia

3,6851764.82406.53,9061463.71754.5

Washington

3,30862919.066120.03,41361518.065319.1

West Virginia

693669.67310.5689649.26910.0

Wisconsin

2,7052157.92519.32,6481877.12128.0

Wyoming

234135.7166.9243145.6187.3

Footnotes
(1) Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
(2) Data refer to both union members and workers who report no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.

Note: Data refer to the sole or principal job of full- and part-time wage and salary workers. All self-employed workers are excluded, both those with incorporated businesses as well as those with unincorporated businesses. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

 

Last Modified Date: Friday, February 03, 2023