The .gov means it's official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information,
make sure you're on a federal government site.
The site is secure. The
https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any
information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.
There were 8 major work stoppages beginning during 2020. This year had the third lowest number of major work stoppages since the data began in 1947. The lowest annual total was 5 in 2009, followed by 7 in 2017.
Number of major work stoppages and number of workers involved, work stoppages beginning each year, 1950–2020
Year
Number of work stoppages
Number of workers involved
1950
424
1,698,000
1951
415
1,462,000
1952
470
2,746,000
1953
437
1,623,000
1954
265
1,075,000
1955
363
2,055,000
1956
287
1,370,000
1957
279
887,000
1958
332
1,587,000
1959
245
1,381,000
1960
222
896,000
1961
195
1,031,000
1962
211
793,000
1963
181
512,000
1964
246
1,183,000
1965
268
999,000
1966
321
1,300,000
1967
381
2,192,000
1968
392
1,855,000
1969
412
1,576,000
1970
381
2,468,000
1971
298
2,516,000
1972
250
975,000
1973
317
1,400,000
1974
424
1,796,000
1975
235
965,000
1976
231
1,519,000
1977
298
1,212,000
1978
219
1,006,000
1979
235
1,021,000
1980
187
795,000
1981
145
728,900
1982
96
655,800
1983
81
909,400
1984
62
376,000
1985
54
323,900
1986
69
533,100
1987
46
174,400
1988
40
118,300
1989
51
452,100
1990
44
184,900
1991
40
392,000
1992
35
363,800
1993
35
181,900
1994
45
322,200
1995
31
191,500
1996
37
272,700
1997
29
338,600
1998
34
386,800
1999
17
72,600
2000
39
393,700
2001
29
99,100
2002
19
45,900
2003
14
129,200
2004
17
170,700
2005
22
99,600
2006
20
70,100
2007
21
189,200
2008
15
72,200
2009
5
12,500
2010
11
44,500
2011
19
112,500
2012
19
148,100
2013
15
54,500
2014
11
34,300
2015
12
47,300
2016
15
99,400
2017
7
25,300
2018
20
485,200
2019
25
425,500
2020
8
27,000
Note: Major work stoppages include both worker-initiated strikes and employer-initiated lockouts that involve 1,000 or more workers and last at least one shift.
There were 27,000 workers involved in major work stoppages that began in 2020. Education and health services accounted for over 75 percent of idled workers. In 2017, 25,300 workers were idled, the majority in information. In 2009, 12,500 workers were idled with almost half in transportation and warehousing.
From 2001 to 2020, there have been 16 work stoppages, on average, beginning each year. There was an average of 52 work stoppages beginning each year between 1981 and 2000. The number of work stoppages beginning each year averaged 284 from 1961 to 1980.
These data are from the Work Stoppages program. See "Major Work Stoppages in 2020" to learn more. See the supplementary files accompanying the news release for more detailed information. Major work stoppages include both worker-initiated strikes and employer-initiated lockouts that involve 1,000 or more workers and last at least one shift.
United States Department of Labor
