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Union membership rate fell by 0.2 percentage point to 10.1 percent in 2022

January 24, 2023

The union membership rate was 10.1 percent in 2022, down from 10.3 percent in 2021. The 2022 unionization rate (10.1 percent) is the lowest on record. In 1983, the first year for which comparable data are available, the union membership rate was 20.1 percent.

Union membership rates by sex, 1983–2022
Year Total Men Women

1983

20.1% 24.7% 14.6%

1984

18.8 23.0 13.8

1985

18.0 22.1 13.2

1986

17.5 21.5 12.9

1987

17.0 20.9 12.6

1988

16.8 20.4 12.6

1989

16.4 19.7 12.6

1990

16.0 19.1 12.5

1991

16.0 19.2 12.5

1992

15.7 18.5 12.6

1993

15.7 18.2 12.9

1994

15.5 17.9 12.9

1995

14.9 17.2 12.3

1996

14.5 16.9 12.0

1997

14.1 16.3 11.6

1998

13.9 16.2 11.4

1999

13.9 16.1 11.4

2000

13.4 15.2 11.4

2001

13.3 15.0 11.6

2002

13.3 14.7 11.6

2003

12.9 14.3 11.4

2004

12.5 13.8 11.1

2005

12.5 13.5 11.3

2006

12.0 13.0 10.9

2007

12.1 13.0 11.1

2008

12.4 13.4 11.4

2009

12.3 13.3 11.3

2010

11.9 12.6 11.1

2011

11.8 12.4 11.2

2012

11.3 12.0 10.5

2013

11.3 11.9 10.5

2014

11.1 11.7 10.5

2015

11.1 11.5 10.6

2016

10.7 11.2 10.2

2017

10.7 11.4 10.0

2018

10.5 11.1 9.9

2019

10.3 10.8 9.7

2020

10.8 11.0 10.5

2021

10.3 10.6 9.9

2022

10.1 10.5 9.6

In 2022, men continued to have a higher union membership rate (10.5 percent) than women (9.6 percent). However, the gap between union membership rates for men and women has narrowed considerably since 1983, when rates for men and women were 24.7 percent and 14.6 percent, respectively. The difference between the unionization rates for men and women has been less than 1 percentage point in each of the last three years; the difference back in 1983 was 10.1 percentage points.

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 or Latino workers (8.8 percent).

Union membership rates by sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 2022
Race and ethnicity Total Men Women

White

10.0% 10.4% 9.5%

Black

11.6 13.0 10.3

Asian

8.3 7.6 9.1

Hispanic or Latino

8.8 9.1 8.5

By sex, White men and Black men had higher union membership rates (10.4 percent and 13.0 percent, respectively) than their female counterparts (9.5 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively). Asian women, at 9.1 percent, had a higher union rate than Asian men, at 7.6 percent. Hispanic or Latino men (9.1 percent) and Hispanic or Latino women (8.5 percent) had similar union membership rates in 2022.

These data are from the Current Population Survey. To learn more, see “Union Members – 2022.” 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. People whose ethnicity is Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Union membership rate fell by 0.2 percentage point to 10.1 percent in 2022 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2023/union-membership-rate-fell-by-0-2-percentage-point-to-10-1-percent-in-2022.htm (visited October 08, 2024).

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