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Economic News Release
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Union Membership (Annual) News Release

Technical information:  (202) 691-6378      USDL 09-0095
               http://www.bls.gov/cps/
                                            For release:  10:00 A.M. (EST)
Media contact:          (202) 691-5902      Wednesday, January 28, 2009
                                   
                                   
                         UNION MEMBERS IN 2008

   In 2008, union members accounted for 12.4 percent of employed wage
and salary workers, up from 12.1 percent a year earlier, the U.S.
Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.  The
number of workers belonging to a union rose by 428,000 to 16.1 million.  
In 1983, the first year for which comparable union data are available, 
the union membership rate was 20.1 percent, and there were 17.7 million 
union workers.

   The data on union membership were collected as part of the Current
Population Survey (CPS).  The CPS is a monthly survey of about 60,000
households that obtains information on employment and unemployment
among the nation's civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and
over.

   Some highlights from the 2008 data are:

   --Government workers were nearly five times more likely to belong
     to a union than were private sector employees.
  
   --Workers in education, training, and library occupations had the
     highest unionization rate at 38.7 percent.
  
   --Black workers were more likely to be union members than were
     white, Asian, or Hispanic workers.
  
   --Among states, New York had the highest union membership rate 
     (24.9 percent) and North Carolina had the lowest rate (3.5 percent).

Membership by Industry and Occupation

   The union membership rate for public sector workers (36.8 percent)
was substantially higher than the rate for private industry workers
(7.6 percent).  Within the public sector, local government workers had
the highest union membership rate, 42.2 percent.  This group includes
many workers in several heavily unionized occupations, such as teachers, 
police officers, and fire fighters.  Private sector industries with 
high unionization rates include transportation and utilities (22.2 per-
cent), telecommunications (19.3 percent), and construction (15.6 per-
cent).  In 2008, unionization rates were relatively low in financial 
activities (1.8 percent) and professional and business services (2.1 
percent).  (See table 3.)

   Among occupational groups, education, training, and library occupa-
tions (38.7 percent) and protective service occupations (35.4 percent) 
had the highest unionization rates in 2008.  Sales and related occu-
pations (3.3 percent) and farming, fishing, and forestry occupations 
(4.3 percent) had the lowest unionization rates.  (See table 3.)

                                  - 2 -

Demographic Characteristics of Union Members

   The union membership rate was higher for men (13.4 percent) than
for women (11.4 percent) in 2008.  (See table 1.)  The gap between
their rates has narrowed considerably since 1983, when the rate for
men was about 10 percentage points higher than the rate for women.
Between 1983 and 2008, the union membership rate for men declined
by 11.3 percentage points, while the rate for women declined by 3.2 
percentage points.

   In 2008, black workers were more likely to be union members (14.5
percent) than workers who were white (12.2 percent), Asian (10.6
percent), or Hispanic (10.6 percent).  Black men had the highest
union membership rate (15.9 percent), while Asian men had the lowest
rate (9.6 percent).

   By age, union membership rates were highest among workers 55 to 64
years old (16.6 percent) and 45 to 54 years old (16.0 percent).  The
lowest union membership rates occurred among those ages 16 to 24 (5.0
percent).  Full-time workers were about twice as likely as part-time
workers to be union members, 13.7 compared with 6.7 percent.  (See
table 1.)

Union Representation of Nonmembers

   About 1.7 million wage and salary workers were represented by a
union on their main job in 2008, while not being union members them-
selves.  (See table 1.)  About half of these workers were employed
in government.  (See table 3.)

Earnings

   In 2008, among full-time wage and salary workers, union members had
median usual weekly earnings of $886 while those who were not repre-
sented by unions had median weekly earnings of $691.  (See table 2.)  
The difference reflects a variety of influences in addition to cover-
age by a collective bargaining agreement, including variations in
the distributions of union members and nonunion employees by occupa-
tion, industry, firm size, or geographic region.  (For a discussion 
of the problem of differentiating between the influence of unioniza-
tion status and the influence of other worker characteristics on em-
ployee earnings, see "Measuring union-nonunion earnings differences,
" Monthly Labor Review, June 1990.)

Union Membership by State

   In 2008, 29 states and the District of Columbia had union member-
ship rates below that of the U.S. average, 12.4 percent, while 20 
states had higher rates, and 1 state had the same rate.  All states
in the East North Central, Middle Atlantic, and Pacific divisions
reported union membership rates at or above the national average, and
all states in the East South Central and West South Central divisions
had rates below it.  Union membership rates rose over the year in 26
states and the District of Columbia, declined in 20 states, and were
unchanged in 4 states.  (See table 5.)

   Six states had union membership rates below 5.0 percent in 2008,
with North Carolina having the lowest rate (3.5 percent).  The next
lowest rates were recorded in Georgia (3.7 percent), South Carolina
(3.9 percent), Virginia (4.1 percent), Texas (4.5 percent), and Lou-
isiana (4.6 percent).  Three states had union membership rates over
20.0 percent in 2008--New York (24.9 percent), Hawaii (24.3 percent),
and Alaska (23.5 percent).

                                  - 3 -

   The largest numbers of union members lived in California (2.7 mil-
lion) and New York (2.0 million).  About half (8.0 million) of the
16.1 million union members in the U.S. lived in just 6 states (Cali-
fornia, 2.7 million; New York, 2.0 million; Illinois, 0.9 million; 
Pennsylvania, 0.8 million; Michigan, 0.8 million; and Ohio, 0.7 mil-
lion), though these states accounted for only one-third of wage and 
salary employment nationally.

   State union membership levels depend on both the employment level
and union membership rate.  Texas, with 449,000 union members in 2008,
had less than one-quarter as many union members as New York, despite
having over 1.8 million more wage and salary employees.  Similarly,
North Carolina and Hawaii had a comparable number of union members
(132,000 and 136,000, respectively), though North Carolina's wage and
salary employment level, at 3.8 million, was almost seven times that
of Hawaii at 562,000.








                                   - 4 -  


Technical Note


   The estimates in this release are obtained from the Current Population 
Survey (CPS), which provides the 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 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.
   
   Union membership data for 2008 are not strictly comparable with data for 
2007 and earlier years because of the introduction of updated population con-
trols with the release of January data.  The effect of the revised population 
controls on the union membership estimates is unknown.  However, the effect of 
the new controls on the monthly CPS estimates was to decrease the December 2007 
employment level by 598,000 and the unemployment level by 40,000.  The updated 
controls had little or no effect on unemployment rates and other ratios.  For 
additional information, see "Adjustments to Household Survey Population Esti-
mates in January 2008" available on the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/cps/
cps08adj.pdf.
   
   Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired indi-
viduals upon request.  Voice phone:  (202) 691-5200; TDD message referral phone 
number: 1-800-877-8339.

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 repre-
sent.  The exact difference, or sampling error, varies depending upon the particular 
sample selected, and this variability is measured by the standard error of the esti-
mate.  There is about a 90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that an esti-
mate 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 direction of the movements in 
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, in-
ability to obtain information for all respondents in the sample, inability or unwill-
ingness of respondents to provide correct information, and errors made in the collec-
tion or processing of the data.


                                     - 5 -  


   For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and information on 
estimating standard errors, see the Household Data section of the "Explanatory Notes 
and Estimates of Error" at http://www.bls.gov/cps/eetech_methods.pdf.

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.

   Represented by unions.  Data refer to union members, as well as workers who have 
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 iden-
tify the easiest way for them to report earnings (hourly, weekly, biweekly, twice month-
ly, 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 defini-
tion 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 distri-
bution 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, but, for the purposes of the union membership and earnings series, 
excludes all self-employed persons, regardless of whether or not their businesses are 
incorporated.

   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.






     Table 1. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by selected characteristics

     (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                             
                                                                             2007                                      2008                  
                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                             
                                                                        Members       Represented                 Members       Represented  
                                                                           of        by unions (2)                   of        by unions (2) 
                        Characteristic                                 unions (1)                                unions (1)                  
                                                            Total                                     Total                                  
                                                           employed                                  employed                                
                                                                            Percent         Percent                   Percent         Percent
                                                                     Total    of    Total     of              Total     of     Total    of  
                                                                              em-             em-                       em-             em-  
                                                                             ployed          ployed                    ployed          ployed
                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                             
                         AGE AND SEX                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                             
       Total, 16 years and over..........................  129,767   15,670   12.1   17,243   13.3   129,377   16,098   12.4   17,761   13.7 
         16 to 24 years..................................   19,395      939    4.8    1,068    5.5    18,705      930    5.0    1,062    5.7 
         25 years and over...............................  110,372   14,731   13.3   16,176   14.7   110,672   15,168   13.7   16,699   15.1 
          25 to 34 years.................................   29,409    3,050   10.4    3,358   11.4    29,276    3,120   10.7    3,443   11.8 
          35 to 44 years.................................   30,296    3,972   13.1    4,362   14.4    29,708    3,993   13.4    4,365   14.7 
          45 to 54 years.................................   29,731    4,664   15.7    5,087   17.1    29,787    4,767   16.0    5,228   17.6 
          55 to 64 years.................................   16,752    2,691   16.1    2,967   17.7    17,430    2,887   16.6    3,209   18.4 
          65 years and over..............................    4,183      355    8.5      402    9.6     4,471      401    9.0      454   10.2 
                                                                                                                                             
         Men, 16 years and over..........................   67,468    8,767   13.0    9,494   14.1    66,846    8,938   13.4    9,724   14.5 
         16 to 24 years..................................    9,959      551    5.5      627    6.3     9,537      555    5.8      617    6.5 
         25 years and over...............................   57,509    8,217   14.3    8,867   15.4    57,309    8,383   14.6    9,107   15.9 
          25 to 34 years.................................   15,994    1,736   10.9    1,884   11.8    15,780    1,750   11.1    1,909   12.1 
          35 to 44 years.................................   16,070    2,318   14.4    2,501   15.6    15,653    2,307   14.7    2,491   15.9 
          45 to 54 years.................................   15,040    2,578   17.1    2,745   18.3    14,988    2,608   17.4    2,812   18.8 
          55 to 64 years.................................    8,286    1,403   16.9    1,532   18.5     8,657    1,525   17.6    1,682   19.4 
          65 years and over..............................    2,119      181    8.5      205    9.7     2,230      193    8.7      213    9.6 
                                                                                                                                             
         Women, 16 years and over........................   62,299    6,903   11.1    7,749   12.4    62,532    7,160   11.4    8,036   12.9 
         16 to 24 years..................................    9,436      388    4.1      441    4.7     9,168      374    4.1      445    4.8 
         25 years and over...............................   52,863    6,514   12.3    7,308   13.8    53,364    6,785   12.7    7,592   14.2 
          25 to 34 years.................................   13,416    1,313    9.8    1,474   11.0    13,496    1,370   10.1    1,534   11.4 
          35 to 44 years.................................   14,226    1,653   11.6    1,861   13.1    14,055    1,685   12.0    1,874   13.3 
          45 to 54 years.................................   14,691    2,086   14.2    2,341   15.9    14,799    2,159   14.6    2,416   16.3 
          55 to 64 years.................................    8,466    1,288   15.2    1,435   17.0     8,773    1,363   15.5    1,527   17.4 
          65 years and over..............................    2,065      174    8.4      197    9.5     2,241      208    9.3      241   10.7 
                                                                                                                                             
         RACE, HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY, AND SEX                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                             
         White, 16 years and over........................  105,515   12,487   11.8   13,715   13.0   105,052   12,863   12.2   14,222   13.5 
          Men............................................   55,771    7,134   12.8    7,708   13.8    55,197    7,309   13.2    7,961   14.4 
          Women..........................................   49,743    5,352   10.8    6,007   12.1    49,855    5,555   11.1    6,261   12.6 
                                                                                                                                             
         Black or African American, 16 years and over....   15,177    2,165   14.3    2,403   15.8    15,030    2,178   14.5    2,370   15.8 
          Men............................................    6,945    1,097   15.8    1,205   17.3     6,809    1,081   15.9    1,159   17.0 
          Women..........................................    8,232    1,067   13.0    1,198   14.6     8,221    1,097   13.3    1,211   14.7 
                                                                                                                                             
         Asian, 16 years and over........................    6,016      654   10.9      720   12.0     6,157      653   10.6      714   11.6 
          Men............................................    3,168      324   10.2      348   11.0     3,216      310    9.6      339   10.6 
          Women..........................................    2,849      330   11.6      372   13.1     2,941      344   11.7      374   12.7 
                                                                                                                                             
         Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 16 years and over    18,778    1,837    9.8    2,026   10.8    18,572    1,960   10.6    2,168   11.7 
          Men............................................   11,163    1,108    9.9    1,208   10.8    10,998    1,204   11.0    1,317   12.0 
          Women..........................................    7,615      728    9.6      818   10.7     7,574      756   10.0      852   11.2 
                                                                                                                                             
                FULL- OR PART-TIME STATUS (3)                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                             
         Full-time workers...............................  107,339   14,201   13.2   15,570   14.5   106,648   14,561   13.7   16,029   15.0 
         Part-time workers...............................   22,172    1,437    6.5    1,635    7.4    22,497    1,505    6.7    1,697    7.5 

       1 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
       2 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union as well as workers who report no union
     affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.
       3 The distinction between full- and part-time workers is based on hours usually worked.  These data will not sum to totals because
     full- or part-time status on the principal job is not identifiable for a small number of multiple jobholders.
       NOTE:  Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not
     presented for all races.  Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.  Data refer to the sole or
     principal job of full- and part-time wage and salary workers.  Excluded are all self-employed workers regardless of whether or not their
     businesses are incorporated.  Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.






     Table 2. Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by union affiliation and selected characteristics
                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                             
                                                                          2007                                        2008                   
                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                             
                      Characteristic                              Members of  Repre-                          Members of   Repre-            
                                                         Total    unions (1)  sented       Non-      Total    unions (1)   sented      Non-  
                                                                                by       union (3)                           by       union (3)
                                                                             unions (2)                                   unions (2)         
                                                                                                                                             
                       AGE AND SEX                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                             
       Total, 16 years and over......................      $695       $863       $857       $663       $722       $886       $880       $691 
         16 to 24 years..............................       424        566        551        418        443        560        549        434 
         25 years and over...........................       738        880        876        712        761        903        898        736 
          25 to 34 years.............................       643        789        781        622        666        801        793        645 
          35 to 44 years.............................       769        910        907        745        804        933        926        775 
          45 to 54 years.............................       790        900        899        763        822        944        941        785 
          55 to 64 years.............................       803        925        921        766        825        927        922        790 
          65 years and over..........................       605        634        682        597        644        771        773        627 
                                                                                                                                             
         Men, 16 years and over......................       766        913        910        738        798        939        937        766 
         16 to 24 years..............................       443        567        557        432        461        571        565        451 
         25 years and over...........................       823        930        928        796        857        957        956        828 
          25 to 34 years.............................       687        823        819        664        704        845        839        682 
          35 to 44 years.............................       873        971        969        847        915        994        991        896 
          45 to 54 years.............................       909        958        961        892        944      1,003      1,005        922 
          55 to 64 years.............................       933        954        952        926        943        967        965        935 
          65 years and over..........................       686        732        776        672        753        864        886        736 
                                                                                                                                             
         Women, 16 years and over....................       614        790        784        592        638        809        800        615 
         16 to 24 years..............................       409        564        540        403        420        546        530        416 
         25 years and over...........................       646        805        800        620        670        825        818        645 
          25 to 34 years.............................       597        753        745        580        623        748        740        609 
          35 to 44 years.............................       668        826        820        640        682        842        838        657 
          45 to 54 years.............................       677        813        810        650        707        853        847        674 
          55 to 64 years.............................       679        886        881        641        711        875        866        675 
          65 years and over..........................       534        582        608        520        563        693        672        542 
                                                                                                                                             
           RACE, HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY,                                                                                               
                         AND SEX                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                             
         White, 16 years and over....................       716        889        884        684        742        914        907        712 
          Men........................................       788        937        934        757        825        967        965        789 
          Women......................................       626        814        807        603        654        837        828        627 
                                                                                                                                             
         Black or African American, 16 years and over       569        732        727        533        589        720        712        564 
          Men........................................       600        768        763        573        620        756        751        598 
          Women......................................       533        697        691        513        554        674        668        523 
                                                                                                                                             
         Asian, 16 years and over....................       830        853        881        823        861        902        908        852 
          Men........................................       936        867        898        940        966        927        939        973 
          Women......................................       731        842        871        712        753        880        880        737 
                                                                                                                                             
         Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 16 years and                                                                                          
          over.......................................       503        736        729        487        529        733        724        512 
          Men........................................       520        793        782        505        559        778        765        526 
          Women......................................       473        675        672        446        501        654        656        487 

       1 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
       2 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union as well as workers who report no union
     affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.
       3 Data refer to workers who are neither members of a union nor represented by a union on their job.
       NOTE:  Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not
     presented for all races.  Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.  Data refer to the sole or
     principal job of full- and part-time wage and salary workers.  Excluded are all self-employed workers regardless of whether or not their
     businesses are incorporated.  Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
     
     
     
     
     

     Table 3. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by occupation and industry

     (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                             
                                                                             2007                                      2008                  
                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                             
                                                                        Members       Represented                 Members       Represented  
                                                                           of        by unions (2)                   of        by unions (2) 
                   Occupation and industry                             unions (1)                                unions (1)                  
                                                            Total                                     Total                                  
                                                           employed                                  employed                                
                                                                            Percent         Percent                   Percent         Percent
                                                                     Total     of    Total     of              Total     of    Total     of  
                                                                              em-             em-                       em-             em-  
                                                                             ployed          ployed                    ployed          ployed
                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                             
                          OCCUPATION                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                             
       Management, professional, and related occupations    44,547    5,853   13.1    6,656   14.9    45,538    6,110   13.4    6,948   15.3 
           Management, business, and financial operations                                                                                    
            occupations.................................... 17,003      849    5.0    1,020    6.0    17,326      866    5.0    1,039    6.0 
               Management occupations....................   11,656      530    4.5      633    5.4    11,843      564    4.8      679    5.7 
               Business and financial operations                                                                                             
                occupations..............................    5,348      319    6.0      386    7.2     5,483      302    5.5      360    6.6 
           Professional and related occupations..........   27,543    5,004   18.2    5,636   20.5    28,212    5,244   18.6    5,909   20.9 
               Computer and mathematical occupations.....    3,252      157    4.8      188    5.8     3,488      170    4.9      210    6.0 
               Architecture and engineering occupations..    2,744      215    7.8      240    8.7     2,746      203    7.4      233    8.5 
               Life, physical, and social science                                                                                            
                occupations..............................    1,270      113    8.9      138   10.9     1,209      106    8.8      132   10.9 
               Community and social services occupations     2,187      326   14.9      375   17.1     2,222      363   16.3      406   18.3 
               Legal occupations.........................    1,288       71    5.5       83    6.4     1,318       74    5.6       87    6.6 
               Education, training, and library                                                                                              
                occupations..............................    8,288    3,087   37.2    3,439   41.5     8,424    3,259   38.7    3,630   43.1 
               Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and                                                                                      
                media occupations........................    1,955      152    7.8      182    9.3     1,994      141    7.1      167    8.4 
               Healthcare practitioner and technical                                                                                         
                occupations..............................    6,558      883   13.5      992   15.1     6,813      928   13.6    1,045   15.3 
       Service occupations...............................   21,784    2,481   11.4    2,692   12.4    22,114    2,624   11.9    2,831   12.8 
           Healthcare support occupations................    2,987      304   10.2      332   11.1     3,028      296    9.8      317   10.5 
           Protective service occupations................    3,025    1,066   35.2    1,127   37.2     3,023    1,069   35.4    1,122   37.1 
           Food preparation and serving related                                                                                              
            occupations..................................    7,500      325    4.3      371    4.9     7,694      401    5.2      444    5.8 
           Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance                                                                                     
            occupations..................................    4,642      497   10.7      549   11.8     4,648      534   11.5      592   12.7 
           Personal care and service occupations.........    3,631      289    8.0      314    8.6     3,721      324    8.7      357    9.6 
       Sales and office occupations......................   32,978    2,386    7.2    2,659    8.1    32,479    2,395    7.4    2,710    8.3 
           Sales and related occupations.................   14,079      462    3.3      521    3.7    13,708      447    3.3      531    3.9 
           Office and administrative support occupations    18,900    1,925   10.2    2,138   11.3    18,770    1,949   10.4    2,179   11.6 
       Natural resources, construction, and maintenance                                                                                      
        occupations........  ............................   13,325    2,252   16.9    2,363   17.7    12,444    2,208   17.7    2,303   18.5 
           Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations....      876       23    2.7       28    3.2       901       39    4.3       46    5.1 
           Construction and extraction occupations.......    7,708    1,434   18.6    1,480   19.2     6,876    1,391   20.2    1,445   21.0 
           Installation, maintenance, and repair                                                                                             
            occupations..................................    4,742      794   16.8      855   18.0     4,668      778   16.7      812   17.4 
       Production, transportation, and material moving                                                                                       
        occupations..  ..................................   17,133    2,699   15.8    2,874   16.8    16,802    2,760   16.4    2,968   17.7 
           Production occupations........................    8,903    1,243   14.0    1,314   14.8     8,601    1,269   14.8    1,370   15.9 
           Transportation and material moving occupations    8,231    1,456   17.7    1,560   19.0     8,202    1,491   18.2    1,599   19.5 

                                                                                                                                             
                           INDUSTRY                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                             
       Private sector....................................  108,714    8,114    7.5    8,870    8.2   108,073    8,265    7.6    9,084    8.4 
         Agriculture and related industries..............    1,046       16    1.5       19    1.8     1,057       30    2.8       35    3.4 
         Nonagriculture and related industries...........  107,668    8,098    7.5    8,851    8.2   107,016    8,236    7.7    9,049    8.5 
            Mining.......................................      705       66    9.3       72   10.2       776       54    6.9       61    7.9 
            Construction.................................    8,561    1,193   13.9    1,232   14.4     7,652    1,195   15.6    1,241   16.2 
            Manufacturing................................   15,341    1,734   11.3    1,845   12.0    15,131    1,723   11.4    1,862   12.3 
                Durable goods manufacturing..............    9,770    1,107   11.3    1,172   12.0     9,728    1,139   11.7    1,223   12.6 
                Nondurable goods manufacturing...........    5,571      628   11.3      673   12.1     5,403      584   10.8      639   11.8 
            Wholesale and retail trade...................   18,896      990    5.2    1,075    5.7    18,622      976    5.2    1,096    5.9 
                Wholesale trade..........................    3,951      205    5.2      224    5.7     3,635      194    5.3      214    5.9 
                Retail trade.............................   14,945      785    5.3      851    5.7    14,987      782    5.2      881    5.9 
            Transportation and utilities.................    5,488    1,211   22.1    1,282   23.4     5,544    1,231   22.2    1,298   23.4 
                Transportation and warehousing...........    4,654      974   20.9    1,037   22.3     4,639      988   21.3    1,041   22.4 
                Utilities................................      834      237   28.4      245   29.4       906      243   26.9      257   28.3 
            Information (3)..............................    3,211      389   12.1      420   13.1     3,056      388   12.7      420   13.7 
                Publishing, except Internet..............      850       62    7.3       65    7.7       717       52    7.2       62    8.7 
                Motion pictures and sound recording......      309       35   11.5       39   12.5       337       38   11.4       39   11.7 
                Broadcasting, except Internet............      588       51    8.7       62   10.6       561       53    9.5       59   10.6 
                Telecommunications.......................    1,186      233   19.7      246   20.8     1,184      228   19.3      242   20.4 
            Financial activities.........................    8,858      174    2.0      215    2.4     8,654      157    1.8      199    2.3 
                Finance and insurance....................    6,531       99    1.5      129    2.0     6,536       86    1.3      115    1.8 
                     Finance.............................    4,313       55    1.3       76    1.8     4,312       45    1.0       62    1.4 
                     Insurance...........................    2,218       45    2.0       53    2.4     2,224       41    1.9       53    2.4 
                Real estate and rental and leasing.......    2,327       74    3.2       86    3.7     2,118       71    3.3       84    4.0 
            Professional and business services...........   12,022      290    2.4      360    3.0    11,967      253    2.1      324    2.7 
                Professional and technical services......    6,962       98    1.4      147    2.1     7,234       93    1.3      128    1.8 
                Management, administrative, and waste                                                                                        
                 services................................    5,060      191    3.8      213    4.2     4,733      159    3.4      196    4.1 
            Education and health services................   18,120    1,591    8.8    1,815   10.0    18,841    1,723    9.1    1,940   10.3 
                Educational services.....................    3,513      444   12.6      529   15.1     3,657      504   13.8      584   16.0 
                Health care and social assistance........   14,607    1,147    7.9    1,286    8.8    15,184    1,219    8.0    1,356    8.9 
            Leisure and hospitality......................   10,956      302    2.8      354    3.2    11,187      361    3.2      408    3.6 
                Arts, entertainment, and recreation......    1,966      122    6.2      138    7.0     2,044      131    6.4      150    7.3 
                Accommodation and food services..........    8,990      180    2.0      217    2.4     9,144      231    2.5      258    2.8 
                    Accommodation........................    1,414      109    7.7      123    8.7     1,447      115    7.9      120    8.3 
                    Food services and drinking places....    7,575       70     .9       94    1.2     7,696      116    1.5      138    1.8 
            Other services (3)...........................    5,510      159    2.9      181    3.3     5,585      175    3.1      200    3.6 
                Other services, except private households    4,727      150    3.2      172    3.6     4,785      164    3.4      185    3.9 
                                                                                                                                             
         Public sector...................................   21,053    7,557   35.9    8,373   39.8    21,305    7,832   36.8    8,676   40.7 
           Federal.......................................    3,423      916   26.8    1,079   31.5     3,542      994   28.1    1,167   33.0 
           State.........................................    6,384    1,943   30.4    2,168   34.0     6,176    1,955   31.6    2,167   35.1 
           Local.........................................   11,246    4,698   41.8    5,126   45.6    11,586    4,884   42.2    5,342   46.1 

       1 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
       2 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union as well as workers who report no union
     affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.
       3 Includes other industries, not shown separately. 
       NOTE:  Data refer to the sole or principal job of full- and part-time workers. Excluded are all self-employed workers regardless of
     whether or not their businesses are incorporated.
     
     
     
     
     

     Table 4. Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by union affiliation, occupation, and industry
                                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                               
                                                                            2007                                        2008                   
                                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                               
                  Occupation and industry                          Members of   Repre-                         Members of   Repre-             
                                                           Total   unions (1)   sented      Non-       Total   unions (1)   sented      Non-   
                                                                                  by      union (3)                           by      union (3)
                                                                               unions (2)                                  unions (2)          
                                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                               
                         OCCUPATION                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                               
       Management, professional, and related                                                                                                   
        occupations.....  .............................      $996       $996       $992       $996     $1,025     $1,028     $1,017     $1,028 
           Management, business, and financial                                                                                                 
            operations occupations..........................1,080      1,066      1,072      1,081      1,128      1,113      1,120      1,129 
               Management occupations..................     1,161      1,172      1,165      1,160      1,204      1,235      1,236      1,199 
               Business and financial operations                                                                                               
                occupations............................       941        934        950        940        974        925        943        978 
           Professional and related occupations........       951        987        980        942        980      1,018      1,004        973 
               Computer and mathematical occupations...     1,229      1,188      1,204      1,231      1,242      1,149      1,139      1,248 
               Architecture and engineering occupations     1,213      1,179      1,178      1,221      1,244      1,223      1,243      1,244 
               Life, physical, and social science                                                                                              
                occupations............................     1,053      1,147      1,144      1,036      1,035      1,169      1,144      1,018 
               Community and social services                                                                                                   
                occupations............................       755        920        909        732        788        983        978        743 
               Legal occupations.......................     1,148      1,180      1,151      1,148      1,174      1,186      1,265      1,169 
               Education, training, and library                                                                                                
                occupations............................       841        959        947        742        866        974        957        765 
               Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and                                                                                        
                media occupations.............................829      1,000      1,009        807        882      1,110      1,098        858 
               Healthcare practitioner and technical                                                                                           
                occupations............................       920      1,005      1,019        906        962      1,070      1,061        943 
       Service occupations.............................       454        666        654        421        475        691        679        440 
           Healthcare support occupations..............       454        502        502        446        465        526        526        457 
           Protective service occupations..............       719        954        946        610        748        990        983        620 
           Food preparation and serving related                                                                                                
            occupations................................       385        502        495        379        402        502        496        398 
           Building and grounds cleaning and                                                                                                   
            maintenance occupations...........................422        551        543        407        431        596        593        412 
           Personal care and service occupations.......       434        585        585        420        475        580        570        463 
       Sales and office occupations....................       598        717        715        587        614        741        736        603 
           Sales and related occupations...............       643        648        648        643        656        679        683        655 
           Office and administrative support                                                                                                   
            occupations..................................     581        726        724        560        601        749        744        585 
       Natural resources, construction, and maintenance                                                                                        
        occupations....   ..............................      670        973        961        617        702        990        984        647 
           Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations..       372      (4)        (4)          369        420      (4)        (4)          418 
           Construction and extraction occupations.....       646        976        968        597        688        992        989        621 
           Installation, maintenance, and repair                                                                                               
            occupations................................       749        975        962        709        774      1,002        994        729 
       Production, transportation, and material moving                                                                                         
        occupations...  ...............................       577        759        753        540        594        777        770        560 
           Production occupations......................       581        761        755        552        595        765        759        567 
           Transportation and material moving                                                                                                  
            occupations................................       570        757        750        523        593        789        779        550 

                                                                                                                                               
                          INDUSTRY                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                               
       Private sector..................................       666        818        813        651        694        838        829        680 
         Agriculture and related industries............       412      (4)        (4)          411        444      (4)        (4)          446 
         Nonagriculture and related industries.........       670        819        814        654        698        840        831        683 
            Mining.....................................       969        960        950        975      1,007      1,024      1,032      1,003 
            Construction...............................       673      1,000        993        624        712      1,014      1,012        668 
            Manufacturing..............................       719        783        779        708        741        796        795        733 
                Durable goods manufacturing............       744        818        815        732        772        829        827        763 
                Nondurable goods manufacturing.........       669        714        712        659        685        729        729        675 
            Wholesale and retail trade.................       587        639        632        584        603        643        638        601 
                Wholesale trade........................       720        756        753        717        741        775        763        739 
                Retail trade...........................       538        608        601        532        564        598        596        561 
            Transportation and utilities...............       738        902        894        695        787        958        950        747 
                Transportation and warehousing.........       696        846        835        657        744        897        895        710 
                Utilities..............................       994      1,056      1,052        954      1,061      1,161      1,142      1,010 
            Information (5)............................       891      1,000        994        867        898      1,011      1,001        871 
                Publishing, except Internet............       881        931        933        877        856      (4)          979        846 
                Motion pictures and sound recording....       889      (4)        (4)          797        883      (4)        (4)          800 
                Broadcasting, except Internet..........       786      (4)        (4)          770        806      (4)          944        794 
                Telecommunications.....................       951      1,003      1,000        927        969      1,006      1,000        953 
            Financial activities.......................       782        728        738        784        814        782        782        816 
                Finance and insurance..................       820        722        746        822        857        762        774        859 
                     Finance...........................       835        717        773        836        864      (4)          829        865 
                     Insurance.........................       795      (4)          735        799        846      (4)        (4)          849 
                Real estate and rental and leasing.....       691        739        718        690        703        789        783        696 
            Professional and business services.........       783        800        822        782        835        814        817        836 
                Professional and technical services....     1,031        991      1,041      1,031      1,065      1,129      1,140      1,064 
                Management, administrative, and waste                                                                                          
                 services..............................       524        733        686        519        544        682        695        538 
            Education and health services..............       671        779        781        657        685        795        798        671 
                Educational services...................       766        824        812        754        773        892        868        762 
                Health care and social assistance......       644        752        762        632        661        756        768        652 
            Leisure and hospitality....................       440        580        572        431        470        584        575        462 
                Arts, entertainment, and recreation....       587        633        634        581        590        651        638        586 
                Accommodation and food services........       413        534        528        410        435        563        552        427 
                    Accommodation......................       492        554        546        481        508        605        602        494 
                    Food services and drinking places..       399        476        490        398        417        497        491        416 
            Other services (5).........................       581        803        789        574        610        878        810        606 
                Other services, except private                                                                                                 
                 households............................       600        822        806        593        629        893        849        622 
                                                                                                                                               
         Public sector.................................       816        901        896        749        842        923        918        766 
           Federal.....................................       965        927        933        996        972        949        959        989 
           State.......................................       772        865        856        731        812        900        889        753 
           Local.......................................       787        907        899        688        814        925        917        719 

       1 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
       2 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union as well as workers who report no union
     affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.
       3 Data refer to workers who are neither members of a union nor represented by a union on their job.
       4 Data not shown where base is less than 50,000.  
       5 Includes other industries, not shown separately. 
       NOTE:  Data refer to the sole or principal job of full- and part-time workers. Excluded are all self-employed workers regardless of
     whether or not their businesses are incorporated.






     Table 5. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by state

     (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                         2007                                      2008                  
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                   Members of     Represented                Members of     Represented  
                                                                   unions (1)     by unions (2)              unions (1)     by unions (2)
                          State                                                                                                          
                                                        Total                                     Total                                  
                                                       employed         Percent         Percent  employed         Percent         Percent
                                                                 Total    of     Total    of               Total    of     Total    of   
                                                                          em-             em-                       em-             em-  
                                                                         ployed          ployed                    ployed          ployed
                                                                                                                                         
     Alabama.........................................    1,895      180     9.5     201    10.6    1,858      181     9.8     199    10.7
     Alaska..........................................      284       68    23.8      70    24.7      289       68    23.5      71    24.7
     Arizona.........................................    2,619      230     8.8     255     9.7    2,579      227     8.8     254     9.8
     Arkansas........................................    1,154       62     5.4      75     6.5    1,158       68     5.9      85     7.3
     California......................................   14,856    2,474    16.7   2,650    17.8   14,889    2,740    18.4   2,909    19.5
     Colorado........................................    2,204      191     8.7     202     9.2    2,254      181     8.0     208     9.2
     Connecticut.....................................    1,617      253    15.6     269    16.6    1,625      275    16.9     291    17.9
     Delaware........................................      396       47    12.0      50    12.8      391       52    13.4      57    14.7
     District of Columbia............................      278       29    10.3      38    13.6      288       35    12.2      41    14.3
     Florida.........................................    7,741      455     5.9     562     7.3    7,573      482     6.4     601     7.9
                                                                                                                                         
     Georgia.........................................    4,181      186     4.4     226     5.4    4,084      151     3.7     189     4.6
     Hawaii..........................................      556      130    23.4     135    24.2      562      136    24.3     143    25.5
     Idaho...........................................      635       33     5.3      41     6.4      602       42     7.1      48     8.0
     Illinois........................................    5,802      842    14.5     884    15.2    5,662      939    16.6     993    17.5
     Indiana.........................................    2,779      333    12.0     359    12.9    2,811      349    12.4     386    13.7
     Iowa............................................    1,417      149    10.5     185    13.1    1,437      153    10.6     187    13.0
     Kansas..........................................    1,274       89     7.0     110     8.7    1,273       89     7.0     111     8.7
     Kentucky........................................    1,734      157     9.1     192    11.1    1,703      146     8.6     163     9.6
     Louisiana.......................................    1,670       94     5.6     108     6.5    1,724       80     4.6      97     5.6
     Maine...........................................      574       67    11.7      79    13.8      574       71    12.3      84    14.7
                                                                                                                                         
     Maryland........................................    2,598      335    12.9     376    14.5    2,610      329    12.6     380    14.5
     Massachusetts...................................    2,882      379    13.2     402    14.0    2,909      458    15.7     491    16.9
     Michigan........................................    4,193      819    19.5     865    20.6    4,089      771    18.8     801    19.6
     Minnesota.......................................    2,460      400    16.3     419    17.0    2,430      392    16.1     412    17.0
     Mississippi.....................................    1,068       72     6.7      95     8.9    1,089       57     5.3      79     7.3
     Missouri........................................    2,585      275    10.7     308    11.9    2,543      285    11.2     327    12.8
     Montana.........................................      399       54    13.5      62    15.6      389       47    12.2      61    15.7
     Nebraska........................................      836       65     7.8      81     9.7      840       70     8.3      90    10.7
     Nevada..........................................    1,177      182    15.4     208    17.7    1,192      199    16.7     217    18.2
     New Hampshire...................................      631       61     9.7      70    11.2      635       67    10.6      79    12.4
                                                                                                                                         
     New Jersey......................................    3,897      748    19.2     802    20.6    3,843      703    18.3     731    19.0
     New Mexico......................................      800       62     7.7      91    11.4      807       58     7.2      94    11.6
     New York........................................    8,150    2,055    25.2   2,146    26.3    8,165    2,029    24.9   2,170    26.6
     North Carolina..................................    3,771      114     3.0     147     3.9    3,799      132     3.5     189     5.0
     North Dakota....................................      303       19     6.4      23     7.6      308       19     6.1      25     8.2
     Ohio............................................    5,187      730    14.1     797    15.4    5,046      716    14.2     783    15.5
     Oklahoma........................................    1,456      103     7.1     124     8.5    1,529      102     6.6     127     8.3
     Oregon..........................................    1,582      227    14.3     243    15.4    1,566      259    16.6     272    17.4
     Pennsylvania....................................    5,496      830    15.1     910    16.6    5,504      847    15.4     899    16.3
     Rhode Island....................................      497       75    15.0      78    15.8      471       78    16.5      82    17.4
                                                                                                                                         
     South Carolina..................................    1,873       78     4.1     111     5.9    1,792       70     3.9     105     5.8
     South Dakota....................................      354       23     6.5      27     7.7      369       18     5.0      24     6.4
     Tennessee.......................................    2,596      138     5.3     166     6.4    2,534      139     5.5     166     6.6
     Texas...........................................    9,899      463     4.7     566     5.7    9,991      449     4.5     559     5.6
     Utah............................................    1,153       67     5.8      78     6.8    1,178       68     5.8      84     7.1
     Vermont.........................................      288       30    10.4      35    12.2      284       29    10.4      36    12.8
     Virginia........................................    3,502      129     3.7     167     4.8    3,597      146     4.1     178     5.0
     Washington......................................    2,874      579    20.2     616    21.4    2,912      578    19.8     626    21.5
     West Virginia...................................      724       97    13.3     107    14.7      736      101    13.8     112    15.3
     Wisconsin.......................................    2,631      376    14.3     405    15.4    2,642      396    15.0     422    16.0
     Wyoming.........................................      239       19     7.9      22     9.4      241       19     7.7      21     8.9

       1 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
       2 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union as well as 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 workers. Excluded are all self-employed workers regardless
     of whether or not their businesses are incorporated. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January
     data.






Last Modified Date: January 28, 2009