Union Membership (Annual) News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Thursday, January 19, 2023 		            USDL-23-0071

Technical information:   (202) 691-6378  *  cpsinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/cps
Media contact:           (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov


				  UNION MEMBERS -- 2022  				


The union membership rate--the percent of wage and salary workers who were members of
unions--was 10.1 percent in 2022, down from 10.3 percent in 2021, the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics reported today. The number of wage and salary workers belonging to 
unions, at 14.3 million in 2022, increased by 273,000, or 1.9 percent, from 2021. 
However, the total number of wage and salary workers grew by 5.3 million (mostly among
nonunion workers), or 3.9 percent. This disproportionately large increase in the number
of total wage and salary employment compared with the increase in the number of union
members led to a decrease in the union membership rate. The 2022 unionization rate 
(10.1 percent) is the lowest on record. In 1983, the first year where comparable union
data are available, the union membership rate was 20.1 percent and there were 17.7 
million union workers.

These data on union membership are collected as part of the Current Population Survey
(CPS), a monthly sample survey of about 60,000 eligible households that obtains 
information on employment and unemployment among the nation's civilian noninstitutional
population age 16 and over. For further information, see the Technical Note in this 
news release.

Highlights from the 2022 data:

 --The union membership rate of public-sector workers (33.1 percent) continued to be 
   more than five times higher than the rate of private-sector workers (6.0 percent). 
   (See table 3.)

 --The highest unionization rates were among workers in protective service occupations
   (34.6 percent) and in education, training, and library occupations (33.7 percent).
   (See table 3.)

 --Men continued to have a higher union membership rate (10.5 percent) than women 
   (9.6 percent). The gap between union membership rates for men and women has narrowed
   considerably since 1983 (the earliest year for which comparable data are available),
   when rates for men and women were 24.7 percent and 14.6 percent, respectively. 
   (See table 1.) 

 --Black workers remained more likely to be union members than White, Asian, or 
   Hispanic workers. (See table 1.)

 --Nonunion workers had median weekly earnings that were 85 percent of earnings for 
   workers who were union members ($1,029 versus $1,216). (The comparisons of earnings
   in this news release are on a broad level and do not control for many factors that 
   can be important in explaining earnings differences.) (See table 2.)

 --Among states, Hawaii and New York had the highest union membership rates (21.9 
   percent and 20.7 percent, respectively), while South Carolina and North Carolina had 
   the lowest (1.7 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively). (See table 5.)

Industry and Occupation of Union Members

In 2022, 7.1 million employees in the public sector belonged to unions, about the same 
as in the private sector (7.2 million). (See table 3.)

Union membership was little changed over the year (+80,000) in the public sector, after
a decline the prior year (-191,000). The public-sector union membership rate continued
to decline in 2022; the rate went down by 0.8 percentage point to 33.1 percent. In 2022,
the union membership rate continued to be highest in local government (38.8 percent), 
which employs many workers in heavily unionized occupations, such as police officers, 
firefighters, and teachers. 

The number of union workers employed in the private sector increased by 193,000 to 7.2
million over the year. The private-sector unionization rate edged down by 0.1 percentage
point in 2022 to 6.0 percent. Industries with high unionization rates included utilities
(19.6 percent), motion pictures and sound recording industries (17.3 percent), and
transportation and warehousing (14.5 percent). Low unionization rates occurred in 
insurance (1.2 percent), finance (1.3 percent), professional and technical services 
(1.3 percent), and food services and drinking places (1.4 percent). 

Among occupational groups, the highest unionization rates in 2022 were in protective 
service occupations (34.6 percent) and in education, training, and library occupations 
(33.7 percent). Unionization rates were lowest in sales and related occupations 
(3.0 percent); computer and mathematical occupations (3.3 percent); food preparation and
serving related occupations (3.6 percent); and management occupations (3.8 percent). 

Selected Characteristics of Union Members

In 2022, the unionization rate for women decreased by 0.3 percentage point over the year
to 9.6 percent while the rate for men was little changed at 10.5 percent. The number of
women who were union members, at 6.5 million, changed little over the year, while the 
number of men who were union members increased by 248,000 to 7.8 million. (See table 1.)

Among major race and ethnicity groups, Black workers continued to have a higher union
membership rate in 2022 (11.6 percent) than White workers (10.0 percent), Asian workers
(8.3 percent), and Hispanic workers (8.8 percent). The union membership rate declined by
0.3 percentage point for White workers, while it increased by 0.6 percentage point for 
Asian workers. The union membership rates for Black workers and Hispanic workers were
little different from 2021. 

By age, workers ages 45 to 54 had the highest union membership rate in 2022, at 12.6 
percent. Younger workers--those ages 16 to 24--had the lowest union membership rate, at
4.4 percent.

In 2022, the union membership rate for full-time workers (11.0 percent) was double than 
that for part-time workers (5.5 percent). 

Union Representation

In 2022, 16.0 million wage and salary workers were represented by a union, up slightly
(+200,000) from 2021. The percentage of workers represented by a union was 11.3 percent
in 2022, down by 0.3 percentage point from a year ago. Workers represented by a union 
include both union members (14.3 million) and workers who report no union affiliation 
but whose jobs are covered by a union contract (1.7 million). (See table 1.)

Earnings

Among full-time wage and salary workers, union members had median usual weekly earnings
of $1,216 in 2022, while nonunion workers had median weekly earnings of $1,029. In
addition to coverage by a collective bargaining agreement, these earnings differences
reflect a variety of influences, including variations in the distributions of union 
members and nonunion employees by occupation, industry, age, firm size, or geographic
region. (See tables 2 and 4.)

Union Membership by State

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. All states in both the East South Central and West South
Central divisions had union membership rates below the national average, while all
states in both the Middle Atlantic and Pacific divisions had rates above it. (See 
table 5.)

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).

In 2022, 30 percent of the 14.3 million union members lived in just two states 
(California at 2.6 million and New York at 1.7 million). However, these states 
accounted for about 17 percent of wage and salary employment nationally.

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 and earnings 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.

   If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to
access telecommunications relay services. 

Reliability of the estimates

   Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. When
a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed, there is a chance that the 
sample estimates may differ from the true population values they represent. The exact
difference, or sampling error, varies depending on the particular sample selected, and
this variability is measured by the standard error of the estimate. There is about a 
90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that an estimate based on a sample will 
differ by no more than 1.6 standard errors from the true population value because of 
sampling error. BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level of 
confidence. The state section of this release preserves the long-time practice of 
highlighting the state union membership rates and levels regardless of their 
statistical significance.

   The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur
for many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of the population, 
inability to obtain information for all respondents in the sample, inability or 
unwillingness of respondents to provide correct information, and errors made in the
collection or processing of the data.

   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.

Union membership questions 

   Employed wage and salary workers are classified as union members if they answer
"yes" to the following question: On this job, are you a member of a labor union or
of an employee association similar to a union? If the response is "no" to that 
question, then the interviewer asks a second question: On this job, are you covered
by a union or employee association contract? If the response is "yes", then these 
persons, along with those who responded "yes" to being union members, are classified
as represented by a union. If the response is "no" to both the first and second 
questions, then they are classified as nonunion.

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.

   Nonunion. Data refer to workers who are neither members of a union nor 
represented by a union on their job.

   Usual weekly earnings. Data represent earnings before taxes and other deductions 
and include any overtime pay, commissions, or tips usually received (at the main job
in the case of multiple jobholders). Prior to 1994, respondents were asked how much
they usually earned per week. Since January 1994, respondents have been asked to 
identify the easiest way for them to report earnings (hourly, weekly, biweekly, 
twice monthly, monthly, annually, other) and how much they usually earn in the 
reported time period. Earnings reported on a basis other than weekly are converted 
to a weekly equivalent. The term "usual" is as perceived by the respondent. If the 
respondent asks for a definition of usual, interviewers are instructed to define the
term as more than half of the weeks worked during the past 4 or 5 months.

   Median earnings. The median is the amount which divides a given earnings 
distribution into two equal groups, one having earnings above the median and the 
other having earnings below the median. The estimating procedure places each reported
or calculated weekly earnings value into $50-wide intervals which are centered around
multiples of $50. The actual value is estimated through the linear interpolation of
the interval in which the median lies.

   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.

   Full-time workers. Workers who usually work 35 hours or more per week at their
sole or principal job.

   Part-time workers. Workers who usually work fewer than 35 hours per week at their
sole or principal job.

   Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. Refers to persons who identified themselves in the 
enumeration process as being Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino. Persons whose ethnicity 
is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.