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Union membership rate 10.5 percent in 2018, down from 20.1 percent in 1983
January 25, 2019
The union membership rate—the percent of wage and salary workers who were members of unions—was 10.5 percent in 2018, down by 0.2 percentage point from 2017. The number of wage and salary workers belonging to unions, 14.7 million in 2018, was about the same as in 2017. 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.
Union membership rates of employed wage and salary workers by sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 1983–2018 annual averages
Year
Total
Men
Women
White, total
Black or African American, total
Asian, total
Hispanic or Latino, total
1983
20.1%
24.7%
14.6%
19.3%
27.2%
-
21.1%
1984
18.8
23.0
13.8
18.0
25.9
-
20.3
1985
18.0
22.1
13.2
17.3
24.3
-
18.9
1986
17.5
21.5
12.9
16.8
23.5
-
17.8
1987
17.0
20.9
12.6
16.3
22.6
-
17.1
1988
16.8
20.4
12.6
16.0
22.9
-
16.0
1989
16.4
19.7
12.6
15.7
22.2
-
15.2
1990
16.0
19.1
12.5
15.4
21.0
-
14.4
1991
16.0
19.2
12.5
15.3
21.3
-
15.3
1992
15.7
18.5
12.6
15.0
21.2
-
14.6
1993
15.7
18.2
12.9
15.1
20.8
-
14.8
1994
15.5
17.9
12.9
14.8
20.6
-
14.2
1995
14.9
17.2
12.3
14.2
19.9
-
13.0
1996
14.5
16.9
12.0
14.0
18.9
-
12.9
1997
14.1
16.3
11.6
13.6
17.9
-
11.8
1998
13.9
16.2
11.4
13.5
17.7
-
11.9
1999
13.9
16.1
11.4
13.5
17.2
-
11.9
2000
13.4
15.2
11.4
13.0
17.2
11.5
11.1
2001
13.3
15.0
11.6
13.0
16.7
11.3
11.2
2002
13.3
14.7
11.6
12.8
16.9
11.6
10.6
2003
12.9
14.3
11.4
12.5
16.5
11.4
10.7
2004
12.5
13.8
11.1
12.2
15.1
11.4
10.1
2005
12.5
13.5
11.3
12.2
15.1
11.2
10.4
2006
12.0
13.0
10.9
11.7
14.5
10.4
9.8
2007
12.1
13.0
11.1
11.8
14.3
10.9
9.8
2008
12.4
13.4
11.4
12.2
14.5
10.6
10.6
2009
12.3
13.3
11.3
12.1
13.9
11.4
10.2
2010
11.9
12.6
11.1
11.7
13.4
10.9
10.0
2011
11.8
12.4
11.2
11.6
13.5
10.1
9.7
2012
11.3
12.0
10.5
11.1
13.4
9.6
9.8
2013
11.3
11.9
10.5
11.0
13.6
9.4
9.4
2014
11.1
11.7
10.5
10.8
13.2
10.4
9.2
2015
11.1
11.5
10.6
10.8
13.6
9.8
9.4
2016
10.7
11.2
10.2
10.5
13.0
9.0
8.8
2017
10.7
11.4
10.0
10.6
12.6
8.9
9.3
2018
10.5
11.1
9.9
10.4
12.5
8.4
9.1
Note: Dash means data are not available.
In 2018, the union membership rate continued to be higher for men (11.1 percent) than for women (9.9 percent). The gap between their rates has narrowed considerably since 1983, when the rate for men was 24.7 percent and the rate for women was 14.6 percent.
Black workers continued to have a higher union membership rate in 2018 (12.5 percent) than workers who were White (10.4 percent), Asian (8.4 percent), or Hispanic (9.1 percent).
These data are from the Current Population Survey. To learn more, see “Union Members — 2018.” The numbers exclude all self-employed workers. People whose ethnicity is Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.
United States Department of Labor
