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The union membership rate (the percentage of wage and salary workers who were members of unions) was 10.8 percent in 2020, up from 10.3 percent in 2019. In 2020, the union membership rate in the public sector increased by 1.2 percentage points to 34.8 percent, while the rate in the private sector increased by 0.1 percentage point to 6.3 percent.
The union membership rate increased even though the number of union members decreased (−321,000, or −2.2 percent) because there was a disproportionately large decrease in the total number of wage and salary workers (−6.7 percent).
Year | Total, all industries | Private sector | Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction | Construction | Manufacturing | Durable goods | Nondurable goods | Wholesale and retail trade | Wholesale trade | Retail trade |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000 |
13.4% | 9.0% | 11.3% | 17.5% | 14.9% | 15.2% | 14.5% | 5.9% | 5.3% | 6.1% |
2001 |
13.3 | 8.9 | 11.5 | 16.9 | 14.7 | 15.1 | 14.1 | 6.0 | 5.6 | 6.0 |
2002 |
13.3 | 8.6 | 8.7 | 16.7 | 14.6 | 15.6 | 13.1 | 5.9 | 5.0 | 6.1 |
2003 |
12.9 | 8.2 | 9.1 | 16.0 | 13.5 | 14.0 | 12.5 | 6.2 | 5.1 | 6.4 |
2004 |
12.5 | 7.9 | 11.4 | 14.7 | 12.9 | 13.3 | 12.3 | 5.5 | 4.6 | 5.7 |
2005 |
12.5 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 13.1 | 13.0 | 13.3 | 12.5 | 5.4 | 5.9 | 5.2 |
2006 |
12.0 | 7.4 | 7.5 | 13.0 | 11.7 | 11.8 | 11.4 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 5.0 |
2007 |
12.1 | 7.5 | 9.3 | 13.9 | 11.3 | 11.3 | 11.3 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.3 |
2008 |
12.4 | 7.6 | 6.9 | 15.6 | 11.4 | 11.7 | 10.8 | 5.2 | 5.3 | 5.2 |
2009 |
12.3 | 7.2 | 8.6 | 14.5 | 10.9 | 10.8 | 11.2 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 5.3 |
2010 |
11.9 | 6.9 | 8.0 | 13.1 | 10.7 | 10.1 | 11.7 | 4.8 | 5.2 | 4.7 |
2011 |
11.8 | 6.9 | 7.2 | 14.0 | 10.5 | 10.2 | 10.9 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 4.9 |
2012 |
11.3 | 6.6 | 7.2 | 13.2 | 9.6 | 9.4 | 9.8 | 4.7 | 5.1 | 4.6 |
2013 |
11.3 | 6.7 | 5.4 | 14.1 | 10.1 | 9.9 | 10.4 | 4.7 | 5.0 | 4.6 |
2014 |
11.1 | 6.6 | 4.8 | 13.9 | 9.7 | 9.6 | 10.0 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 4.4 |
2015 |
11.1 | 6.7 | 5.4 | 13.2 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 4.6 | 3.8 | 4.8 |
2016 |
10.7 | 6.4 | 5.6 | 13.9 | 8.8 | 8.9 | 8.4 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 4.3 |
2017 |
10.7 | 6.5 | 4.4 | 14.0 | 9.1 | 9.1 | 9.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
2018 |
10.5 | 6.4 | 4.7 | 12.8 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.3 |
2019 |
10.3 | 6.2 | 4.0 | 12.6 | 8.6 | 8.8 | 8.2 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
2020 |
10.8 | 6.3 | 5.6 | 12.7 | 8.5 | 8.7 | 8.2 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.6 |
Year | Transportation and utilities | Transportation and warehousing | Utilities | Information | Publishing, except Internet | Motion pictures and sound recording industries | Radio and television broadcasting and cable subscription programming | Telecommunications |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000 |
26.0% | 25.7% | 27.2% | 14.7% | 8.0% | 17.1% | 8.8% | 23.8% |
2001 |
25.3 | 25.0 | 26.7 | 14.1 | 6.9 | 12.2 | 7.2 | 23.7 |
2002 |
24.7 | 24.6 | 25.4 | 14.6 | 9.0 | 14.3 | 7.6 | 23.1 |
2003 |
26.2 | 25.8 | 28.2 | 13.6 | 7.4 | 12.0 | 9.2 | 21.0 |
2004 |
24.9 | 24.2 | 28.4 | 14.2 | 6.7 | 15.7 | 9.3 | 22.4 |
2005 |
24.0 | 23.4 | 27.4 | 13.6 | 8.8 | 15.0 | 8.6 | 21.4 |
2006 |
23.2 | 22.2 | 28.2 | 12.0 | 7.0 | 10.3 | 5.9 | 20.7 |
2007 |
22.1 | 20.9 | 28.4 | 12.1 | 7.3 | 11.5 | 8.7 | 19.7 |
2008 |
22.2 | 21.3 | 26.9 | 12.7 | 7.2 | 11.4 | 9.5 | 19.3 |
2009 |
22.2 | 21.3 | 26.1 | 10.0 | 5.3 | 12.8 | 4.7 | 16.0 |
2010 |
21.8 | 20.5 | 28.3 | 9.6 | 5.0 | 9.3 | 5.1 | 15.8 |
2011 |
21.1 | 20.4 | 25.0 | 10.1 | 4.5 | 13.8 | 5.9 | 15.6 |
2012 |
20.6 | 19.9 | 24.7 | 9.7 | 3.7 | 11.4 | 6.7 | 15.6 |
2013 |
20.6 | 19.6 | 25.6 | 8.9 | 4.7 | 9.5 | 5.5 | 14.4 |
2014 |
20.1 | 19.6 | 22.3 | 8.6 | 3.6 | 7.3 | 7.0 | 14.8 |
2015 |
19.3 | 18.9 | 21.4 | 8.6 | 3.9 | 11.7 | 6.7 | 13.3 |
2016 |
18.9 | 18.4 | 21.5 | 9.0 | 4.9 | 11.0 | 5.9 | 14.6 |
2017 |
18.3 | 17.3 | 23.0 | 9.8 | 3.6 | 11.4 | 7.8 | 16.1 |
2018 |
17.3 | 16.7 | 20.1 | 9.6 | 3.9 | 12.5 | 7.7 | 15.4 |
2019 |
17.3 | 16.1 | 23.4 | 10.3 | 3.3 | 13.6 | 11.0 | 14.1 |
2020 |
17.6 | 17.0 | 20.6 | 9.3 | 2.4 | 14.0 | 7.6 | 14.3 |
Year | Financial activities | Finance and insurance | Finance | Insurance | Real estate and rental and leasing | Professional and business services | Professional and technical services | Management, administrative, and waste services | Education and health services | Educational services |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000 |
1.6% | 1.1% | 0.8% | 1.6% | 3.3% | 2.5% | 1.1% | 4.7% | 7.9% | 11.5% |
2001 |
2.3 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 4.3 | 3.1 | 1.8 | 5.1 | 8.3 | 13.2 |
2002 |
2.0 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 3.5 | 2.7 | 1.5 | 4.4 | 8.5 | 13.7 |
2003 |
2.1 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 3.7 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 3.5 | 8.0 | 12.1 |
2004 |
2.0 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 3.9 | 8.3 | 13.0 |
2005 |
2.3 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 2.7 | 1.5 | 4.3 | 8.3 | 13.1 |
2006 |
1.9 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.8 | 3.3 | 2.4 | 1.4 | 3.8 | 8.3 | 13.5 |
2007 |
2.0 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 3.2 | 2.4 | 1.4 | 3.8 | 8.8 | 12.6 |
2008 |
1.8 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 3.4 | 9.1 | 13.8 |
2009 |
1.8 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 4.0 | 8.6 | 12.9 |
2010 |
2.0 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 4.1 | 2.7 | 1.4 | 4.6 | 8.1 | 13.0 |
2011 |
1.6 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 3.4 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 3.3 | 8.6 | 13.0 |
2012 |
1.9 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 4.1 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 4.3 | 8.1 | 12.4 |
2013 |
2.0 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 3.6 | 8.3 | 12.9 |
2014 |
2.0 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 3.7 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 3.8 | 8.2 | 11.7 |
2015 |
2.4 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 4.7 | 2.5 | 1.7 | 3.8 | 8.7 | 13.7 |
2016 |
2.3 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 4.9 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 3.7 | 8.2 | 12.3 |
2017 |
2.4 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 5.0 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 3.2 | 8.1 | 11.4 |
2018 |
2.1 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 3.9 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 4.4 | 8.1 | 13.1 |
2019 |
1.9 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 4.0 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 3.6 | 8.0 | 12.3 |
2020 |
1.9 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 3.5 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 4.0 | 8.4 | 13.5 |
Year | Health care and social assistance | Leisure and hospitality | Arts, entertainment, and recreation | Accommodation and food services | Accommodation | Food services and drinking places | Other services | Public sector | Federal government | State government | Local government |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000 |
7.1% | 3.8% | 6.9% | 3.2% | 10.3% | 1.6% | 3.5% | 36.9% | 31.5% | 29.7% | 42.4% |
2001 |
7.1 | 3.6 | 6.4 | 3.0 | 8.9 | 1.7 | 3.7 | 36.8 | 31.5 | 30.5 | 41.9 |
2002 |
7.3 | 3.0 | 6.4 | 2.3 | 7.6 | 1.2 | 3.7 | 37.3 | 32.2 | 31.0 | 42.3 |
2003 |
7.0 | 2.8 | 5.4 | 2.2 | 8.3 | 1.0 | 3.3 | 37.2 | 30.9 | 30.3 | 42.6 |
2004 |
7.2 | 3.1 | 6.4 | 2.4 | 8.2 | 1.2 | 2.8 | 36.4 | 29.9 | 30.7 | 41.3 |
2005 |
7.1 | 3.1 | 6.3 | 2.4 | 8.3 | 1.3 | 3.2 | 36.5 | 27.8 | 31.3 | 41.9 |
2006 |
7.0 | 3.1 | 6.3 | 2.4 | 9.2 | 1.1 | 3.1 | 36.2 | 28.4 | 30.2 | 41.9 |
2007 |
7.9 | 2.8 | 6.2 | 2.0 | 7.7 | 0.9 | 2.9 | 35.9 | 26.8 | 30.4 | 41.8 |
2008 |
8.0 | 3.2 | 6.4 | 2.5 | 7.9 | 1.5 | 3.1 | 36.8 | 28.1 | 31.6 | 42.2 |
2009 |
7.5 | 3.1 | 6.4 | 2.3 | 7.8 | 1.3 | 2.9 | 37.4 | 28.0 | 32.2 | 43.3 |
2010 |
6.9 | 2.7 | 5.3 | 2.1 | 7.9 | 1.1 | 2.9 | 36.2 | 26.8 | 31.1 | 42.3 |
2011 |
7.5 | 2.7 | 5.3 | 2.1 | 7.1 | 1.2 | 3.4 | 37.0 | 28.1 | 31.5 | 43.2 |
2012 |
7.0 | 2.7 | 6.4 | 1.9 | 6.5 | 1.2 | 2.5 | 35.9 | 26.9 | 31.3 | 41.7 |
2013 |
7.2 | 2.7 | 5.2 | 2.1 | 7.0 | 1.3 | 3.0 | 35.3 | 26.5 | 30.9 | 40.8 |
2014 |
7.3 | 3.2 | 6.5 | 2.5 | 8.9 | 1.4 | 2.9 | 35.7 | 27.5 | 29.8 | 41.9 |
2015 |
7.3 | 3.1 | 6.4 | 2.4 | 7.4 | 1.5 | 3.0 | 35.2 | 27.3 | 30.2 | 41.3 |
2016 |
7.1 | 3.0 | 5.4 | 2.5 | 7.6 | 1.6 | 2.6 | 34.4 | 27.4 | 29.6 | 40.3 |
2017 |
7.2 | 2.9 | 5.9 | 2.2 | 7.3 | 1.4 | 2.8 | 34.4 | 26.6 | 30.3 | 40.1 |
2018 |
6.7 | 2.9 | 5.7 | 2.3 | 8.3 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 33.9 | 26.4 | 28.6 | 40.3 |
2019 |
6.8 | 2.9 | 6.6 | 2.1 | 6.5 | 1.4 | 2.8 | 33.6 | 25.6 | 29.4 | 39.4 |
2020 |
7.1 | 2.2 | 4.8 | 1.6 | 5.7 | 1.2 | 2.5 | 34.8 | 26.0 | 29.9 | 41.7 |
Among the private-sector industries, union membership rates were highest in transportation and utilities (17.6 percent), construction (12.7 percent), and information (9.3 percent). Union membership rates were lowest in financial activities (1.9 percent), leisure and hospitality (2.2 percent), and professional and business services (2.2 percent).
In the leisure and hospitality industry, the union membership rate was 1.2 percent in food services and drinking places; 4.8 percent in arts, entertainment, and recreation; and 5.7 percent in accommodation.
Within the public sector, the union membership rate was highest in local government (41.7 percent), which employs many workers in heavily unionized occupations, such as police officers, firefighters, and teachers.
These data are from the Current Population Survey. To learn more, see “Union Members — 2020.” The union membership rate is calculated by dividing the number of union members by the number of wage and salary workers. Union membership data do not include self-employed workers.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, A look at union membership rates across industries in 2020 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2021/a-look-at-union-membership-rates-across-industries-in-2020.htm (visited October 31, 2024).