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News Release Information

24-413-SAN
Thursday, February 29, 2024

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

Union Members in Washington — 2023

In 2023, union members accounted for 16.5 percent of wage and salary workers in Washington, compared with 18.0 percent in 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the union membership rate for the state was at its peak in 1993, when it averaged 23.8 percent, and at its low point in 2023. (See chart 1 and table A.) Nationwide, union members accounted for 10.0 percent of employed wage and salary workers in 2023. The rate was little changed from the previous year. Since 1989, when comparable state data became available, union membership rates in Washington have been above the U.S. average.

Washington had 576,000 union members in 2023. In addition to these members, another 56,000 wage and salary workers in Washington 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 Washington, annual averages, 2013–2023 (numbers in thousands)
Year Total employed Members of unions (1) Represented by unions (2)
Total Percent of employed Total Percent of employed

2013

2,882 546 18.9 568 19.7

2014

2,914 491 16.8 536 18.4

2015

2,977 500 16.8 536 18.0

2016

3,090 539 17.4 577 18.7

2017

3,112 584 18.8 630 20.2

2018

3,270 649 19.8 671 20.5

2019

3,393 638 18.8 684 20.2

2020

3,201 557 17.4 596 18.6

2021

3,308 629 19.0 661 20.0

2022

3,413 615 18.0 653 19.1

2023

3,491 576 16.5 632 18.1

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, 14.4 million wage and salary workers were union members in 2023 and 1.8 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 (14.4 million) showed little movement from 2022.

In 2023, 31 states and the District of Columbia had union membership rates below the U.S. average (10.0 percent), while 19 states had rates above it. (See table 1.) Eleven states had union membership rates below 5.0 percent in 2023. South Carolina had the lowest rate (2.3 percent). The next lowest rates were in North Carolina (2.7 percent) and South Dakota (3.6 percent). Two states had union membership rates over 20.0 percent in 2023: Hawaii (24.1 percent) and New York (20.6 percent). (See map 1.)

Map 1. Union membership rates by state, 2023 annual averages

(U.S. rate = 10.0%)


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.

This release preserves the long-time practice of highlighting the state union membership rates and levels regardless of their statistical significance. More information is available in the Union Members Technical Note.

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, 2022-2023 annual averages (numbers in thousands)
State 2022 2023
Total
employed
Members of unions(1) Represented by
unions(2)
Total
employed
Members of unions(1) Represented by
unions(2)
Total Percent
of
employed
Total Percent
of
employed
Total Percent
of
employed
Total Percent
of
employed

Alabama

2,066 149 7.2 173 8.4 2,088 156 7.5 180 8.6

Alaska

298 48 16.0 52 17.3 307 45 14.8 47 15.2

Arizona

3,061 169 5.5 189 6.2 3,164 133 4.2 152 4.8

Arkansas

1,204 59 4.9 68 5.7 1,217 62 5.1 71 5.8

California

16,240 2,617 16.1 2,856 17.6 16,349 2,514 15.4 2,769 16.9

Colorado

2,672 178 6.7 201 7.5 2,730 189 6.9 235 8.6

Connecticut

1,658 236 14.2 256 15.4 1,610 255 15.9 272 16.9

Delaware

442 38 8.5 42 9.4 436 38 8.8 44 10.1

District of Columbia

331 30 9.1 34 10.4 347 32 9.1 36 10.4

Florida

9,100 414 4.5 511 5.6 9,453 442 4.7 578 6.1

Georgia

4,521 200 4.4 244 5.4 4,626 211 4.6 250 5.4

Hawaii

572 125 21.9 134 23.4 573 138 24.1 147 25.6

Idaho

825 39 4.7 49 5.9 810 37 4.5 44 5.5

Illinois

5,611 735 13.1 789 14.1 5,537 708 12.8 755 13.6

Indiana

3,023 223 7.4 260 8.6 3,054 245 8.0 278 9.1

Iowa

1,506 105 7.0 132 8.7 1,490 107 7.2 131 8.8

Kansas

1,318 129 9.8 160 12.1 1,360 120 8.9 144 10.6

Kentucky

1,791 141 7.9 185 10.3 1,719 152 8.8 194 11.3

Louisiana

1,801 76 4.2 94 5.2 1,765 76 4.3 91 5.2

Maine

527 48 9.2 61 11.5 566 52 9.2 61 10.8

Maryland

2,816 327 11.6 372 13.2 2,822 302 10.7 362 12.8

Massachusetts

3,241 413 12.7 447 13.8 3,267 412 12.6 443 13.6

Michigan

4,212 589 14.0 644 15.3 4,409 564 12.8 623 14.1

Minnesota

2,697 382 14.2 411 15.2 2,673 356 13.3 378 14.1

Mississippi

1,102 62 5.6 79 7.2 1,081 75 7.0 106 9.8

Missouri

2,681 257 9.6 284 10.6 2,734 255 9.3 286 10.4

Montana

466 52 11.2 57 12.3 470 56 11.8 61 13.0

Nebraska

923 60 6.5 74 8.1 940 68 7.3 88 9.4

Nevada

1,287 146 11.3 164 12.8 1,382 171 12.4 201 14.5

New Hampshire

687 70 10.1 77 11.2 668 62 9.3 73 10.9

New Jersey

4,161 619 14.9 666 16.0 4,211 679 16.1 729 17.3

New Mexico

806 71 8.8 86 10.6 805 60 7.5 73 9.1

New York

8,124 1,679 20.7 1,795 22.1 8,300 1,711 20.6 1,787 21.5

North Carolina

4,409 125 2.8 173 3.9 4,623 125 2.7 152 3.3

North Dakota

365 23 6.4 28 7.6 359 22 6.2 27 7.5

Ohio

4,989 641 12.8 699 14.0 5,108 641 12.5 691 13.5

Oklahoma

1,587 88 5.5 113 7.1 1,705 115 6.8 132 7.7

Oregon

1,810 281 15.5 305 16.9 1,808 255 14.1 270 15.0

Pennsylvania

5,628 715 12.7 767 13.6 5,786 749 12.9 822 14.2

Rhode Island

505 81 16.1 89 17.7 507 62 12.3 67 13.2

South Carolina

2,050 35 1.7 40 2.0 2,130 49 2.3 63 3.0

South Dakota

412 13 3.1 17 4.2 425 15 3.6 18 4.2

Tennessee

2,931 163 5.5 184 6.3 2,981 178 6.0 205 6.9

Texas

12,496 518 4.1 643 5.1 13,019 586 4.5 701 5.4

Utah

1,540 60 3.9 133 8.7 1,584 65 4.1 134 8.4

Vermont

284 34 12.1 38 13.4 301 43 14.3 46 15.4

Virginia

3,906 146 3.7 175 4.5 4,042 176 4.3 226 5.6

Washington

3,413 615 18.0 653 19.1 3,491 576 16.5 632 18.1

West Virginia

689 64 9.2 69 10.0 691 60 8.7 70 10.1

Wisconsin

2,648 187 7.1 212 8.0 2,761 205 7.4 232 8.4

Wyoming

243 14 5.6 18 7.3 256 14 5.6 17 6.6

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: Thursday, February 29, 2024