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In 2023, union members accounted for 16.1 percent of wage and salary workers in New Jersey, compared with 14.9 percent in 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the union membership rate for the state was at its peak in 1991, when it averaged 24.3 percent, and at its low point in 2018 and 2022 at 14.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Nationwide, union members accounted for 10.0 percent of employed wage and salary workers in 2023. The rate was little changed from the previous year. Since 1989, when comparable state data became available, union membership rates in New Jersey have been at least 4 percentage points above the U.S. average.
Chart 1. Members of unions as a percent of employed in the United States and New Jersey, 2013–23
Year
New Jersey
United States
2013
16.0
11.3
2014
16.5
11.1
2015
15.4
11.1
2016
16.1
10.7
2017
16.2
10.7
2018
14.9
10.5
2019
15.7
10.3
2020
16.1
10.8
2021
16.2
10.3
2022
14.9
10.1
2023
16.1
10.0
New Jersey had 679,000 union members in 2023, the highest level since 721,000 members were reported in 2009. In addition to these members, another 50,000 wage and salary workers in New Jersey were represented by a union on their main job or covered by an employee association or contract while not union members themselves.
Table A. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers in New Jersey, annual averages, 2013–2023 (numbers in thousands)
Footnotes: (1) Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union. (2) Data refer to both union members and 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 wage and salary workers. All self-employed workers are excluded, both those with incorporated businesses as well as those with unincorporated businesses. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
Nationwide, 14.4 million wage and salary workers were union members in 2023 and 1.8 million wage and salary workers were not affiliated with a union but had jobs covered by a union contract. The number of wage and salary workers belonging to unions (14.4 million) showed little movement from 2022.
In 2023, 31 states and the District of Columbia had union membership rates below the U.S. average (10.0 percent), while 19 states had rates above it. (See table 1.) Eleven states had union membership rates below 5.0 percent in 2023. South Carolina had the lowest rate (2.3 percent). The next lowest rates were in North Carolina (2.7 percent) and South Dakota (3.6 percent). Two states had union membership rates over 20.0 percent in 2023: Hawaii (24.1 percent) and New York (20.6 percent). (See map 1.)
Map 1. Union membership rates by state, 2023 annual averages
(U.S. rate = 10.0%)
Technical Note
The estimates in this release are obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), which provides 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 eligible households. The union membership 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.
This release preserves the long-time practice of highlighting the state union membership rates and levels regardless of their statistical significance. More information is available in the Union Members Technical Note.
Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.
Table 1. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by state, 2022-2023 annual averages (numbers in thousands)
Footnotes (1) Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union. (2) Data refer to both union members and 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 wage and salary workers. All self-employed workers are excluded, both those with incorporated businesses as well as those with unincorporated businesses. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
United States Department of Labor
