An official website of the United States government
23-335-BOS
Wednesday, February 15, 2023
In 2022, union members accounted for 16.1 percent of wage and salary workers in Rhode Island, compared with 15.7 percent in 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner William J. Sibley noted that Rhode Island was 1 of 19 states with a union membership rate above the national average. (See chart 1 and table A.) Nationwide, union members accounted for 10.1 percent of employed wage and salary workers in 2022. The rate was down from 10.3 percent in 2021, primarily the result of a disproportionately large increase in the number of total wage and salary employment compared with the increase in the number of union members. The 2022 unionization rate (10.1 percent) is the lowest on record. Since 1989, when state data became available, union membership rates in Rhode Island have been above the U.S. average.
Rhode Island had 81,000 union members in 2022. In addition to these members, another 8,000 wage and salary workers in Rhode Island were represented by a union on their main job or covered by an employee association or contract while not union members themselves.
Nationwide, 14.3 million wage and salary workers were union members in 2022 and 1.7 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 (14.3 million) was up by 273,000 from 2022.
Year | Total employed | Members of unions (1) | Represented by unions (2) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | Percent of employed | Total | Percent of employed | ||
2012 |
455 | 81 | 17.8 | 84 | 18.4 |
2013 |
459 | 77 | 16.9 | 82 | 17.8 |
2014 |
453 | 68 | 15.1 | 72 | 15.8 |
2015 |
483 | 68 | 14.2 | 72 | 14.9 |
2016 |
481 | 74 | 15.5 | 81 | 16.9 |
2017 |
486 | 78 | 16.1 | 84 | 17.2 |
2018 |
479 | 83 | 17.4 | 89 | 18.5 |
2019 |
475 | 83 | 17.4 | 90 | 19.0 |
2020 |
455 | 81 | 17.8 | 87 | 19.1 |
2021 |
474 | 75 | 15.7 | 83 | 17.4 |
2022 |
505 | 81 | 16.1 | 89 | 17.7 |
Footnotes: |
|||||
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. |
In 2022, 30 states and the District of Columbia had union membership rates below that of the U.S. average, 10.1 percent, while 19 states had rates above it and 1 state (New Hampshire) had the same rate. (See table 1.) Eleven states had union membership rates below 5.0 percent in 2022. South Carolina had the lowest rate (1.7 percent), followed by North Carolina (2.8 percent) and South Dakota (3.1 percent). Two states had union membership rates over 20.0 percent in 2022: Hawaii (21.9 percent) and New York (20.7 percent). (See chart 2.)
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.
Beginning in January of each year, data reflect revised population controls used in the CPS. Additional information about population controls is available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#pop.
Information about the reliability of data from the CPS and guidance on estimating standard errors is available at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#reliability.
DefinitionsThe principal definitions used in this release are described briefly below.
Union members. Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
Union membership rate. Data refer to the proportion of total wage and salary workers who are union members.
Represented by unions. 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.
Wage and salary workers. Workers who receive wages, salaries, commissions, tips, payment in kind, or piece rates. The group includes employees in both the private and public sectors. Union membership and earnings data exclude all self-employed workers, both those with incorporated businesses as well as those with unincorporated businesses.
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.
State | 2021 | 2022 | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total employed |
Members of unions(1) | Represented by unions(2) |
Total employed |
Members of unions(1) | Represented by unions(2) |
|||||
Total | Percent of employed |
Total | Percent of employed |
Total | Percent of employed |
Total | Percent of employed |
|||
Alabama |
1,938 | 115 | 5.9 | 133 | 6.9 | 2,066 | 149 | 7.2 | 173 | 8.4 |
Alaska |
293 | 46 | 15.8 | 50 | 17.2 | 298 | 48 | 16.0 | 52 | 17.3 |
Arizona |
3,116 | 167 | 5.4 | 208 | 6.7 | 3,061 | 169 | 5.5 | 189 | 6.2 |
Arkansas |
1,167 | 46 | 3.9 | 51 | 4.4 | 1,204 | 59 | 4.9 | 68 | 5.7 |
California |
15,497 | 2,468 | 15.9 | 2,757 | 17.8 | 16,240 | 2,617 | 16.1 | 2,856 | 17.6 |
Colorado |
2,538 | 165 | 6.5 | 192 | 7.5 | 2,672 | 178 | 6.7 | 201 | 7.5 |
Connecticut |
1,524 | 223 | 14.6 | 248 | 16.3 | 1,658 | 236 | 14.2 | 256 | 15.4 |
Delaware |
435 | 42 | 9.7 | 44 | 10.2 | 442 | 38 | 8.5 | 42 | 9.4 |
District of Columbia |
350 | 31 | 8.9 | 35 | 9.9 | 331 | 30 | 9.1 | 34 | 10.4 |
Florida |
8,667 | 448 | 5.2 | 529 | 6.1 | 9,100 | 414 | 4.5 | 511 | 5.6 |
Georgia |
4,404 | 211 | 4.8 | 256 | 5.8 | 4,521 | 200 | 4.4 | 244 | 5.4 |
Hawaii |
541 | 121 | 22.4 | 131 | 24.1 | 572 | 125 | 21.9 | 134 | 23.4 |
Idaho |
767 | 36 | 4.7 | 42 | 5.5 | 825 | 39 | 4.7 | 49 | 5.9 |
Illinois |
5,397 | 752 | 13.9 | 818 | 15.2 | 5,611 | 735 | 13.1 | 789 | 14.1 |
Indiana |
2,844 | 256 | 9.0 | 290 | 10.2 | 3,023 | 223 | 7.4 | 260 | 8.6 |
Iowa |
1,428 | 93 | 6.5 | 118 | 8.3 | 1,506 | 105 | 7.0 | 132 | 8.7 |
Kansas |
1,300 | 120 | 9.2 | 148 | 11.4 | 1,318 | 129 | 9.8 | 160 | 12.1 |
Kentucky |
1,740 | 126 | 7.2 | 170 | 9.8 | 1,791 | 141 | 7.9 | 185 | 10.3 |
Louisiana |
1,722 | 81 | 4.7 | 98 | 5.7 | 1,801 | 76 | 4.2 | 94 | 5.2 |
Maine |
563 | 70 | 12.4 | 83 | 14.7 | 527 | 48 | 9.2 | 61 | 11.5 |
Maryland |
2,689 | 295 | 11.0 | 332 | 12.3 | 2,816 | 327 | 11.6 | 372 | 13.2 |
Massachusetts |
3,181 | 402 | 12.6 | 433 | 13.6 | 3,241 | 413 | 12.7 | 447 | 13.8 |
Michigan |
4,047 | 540 | 13.3 | 620 | 15.3 | 4,212 | 589 | 14.0 | 644 | 15.3 |
Minnesota |
2,608 | 416 | 16.0 | 446 | 17.1 | 2,697 | 382 | 14.2 | 411 | 15.2 |
Mississippi |
1,080 | 59 | 5.5 | 74 | 6.9 | 1,102 | 62 | 5.6 | 79 | 7.2 |
Missouri |
2,615 | 235 | 9.0 | 266 | 10.2 | 2,681 | 257 | 9.6 | 284 | 10.6 |
Montana |
438 | 49 | 11.2 | 56 | 12.9 | 466 | 52 | 11.2 | 57 | 12.3 |
Nebraska |
896 | 61 | 6.8 | 72 | 8.0 | 923 | 60 | 6.5 | 74 | 8.1 |
Nevada |
1,249 | 153 | 12.2 | 176 | 14.1 | 1,287 | 146 | 11.3 | 164 | 12.8 |
New Hampshire |
643 | 65 | 10.1 | 73 | 11.3 | 687 | 70 | 10.1 | 77 | 11.2 |
New Jersey |
3,762 | 608 | 16.2 | 672 | 17.9 | 4,161 | 619 | 14.9 | 666 | 16.0 |
New Mexico |
770 | 58 | 7.5 | 70 | 9.1 | 806 | 71 | 8.8 | 86 | 10.6 |
New York |
7,770 | 1,729 | 22.2 | 1,869 | 24.1 | 8,124 | 1,679 | 20.7 | 1,795 | 22.1 |
North Carolina |
4,225 | 108 | 2.6 | 142 | 3.4 | 4,409 | 125 | 2.8 | 173 | 3.9 |
North Dakota |
349 | 19 | 5.4 | 24 | 6.9 | 365 | 23 | 6.4 | 28 | 7.6 |
Ohio |
4,966 | 596 | 12.0 | 647 | 13.0 | 4,989 | 641 | 12.8 | 699 | 14.0 |
Oklahoma |
1,546 | 87 | 5.6 | 105 | 6.8 | 1,587 | 88 | 5.5 | 113 | 7.1 |
Oregon |
1,784 | 318 | 17.8 | 336 | 18.8 | 1,810 | 281 | 15.5 | 305 | 16.9 |
Pennsylvania |
5,380 | 693 | 12.9 | 732 | 13.6 | 5,628 | 715 | 12.7 | 767 | 13.6 |
Rhode Island |
474 | 75 | 15.7 | 83 | 17.4 | 505 | 81 | 16.1 | 89 | 17.7 |
South Carolina |
2,070 | 34 | 1.7 | 42 | 2.0 | 2,050 | 35 | 1.7 | 40 | 2.0 |
South Dakota |
393 | 16 | 4.0 | 20 | 5.0 | 412 | 13 | 3.1 | 17 | 4.2 |
Tennessee |
2,820 | 145 | 5.2 | 166 | 5.9 | 2,931 | 163 | 5.5 | 184 | 6.3 |
Texas |
12,057 | 454 | 3.8 | 571 | 4.7 | 12,496 | 518 | 4.1 | 643 | 5.1 |
Utah |
1,465 | 51 | 3.5 | 96 | 6.5 | 1,540 | 60 | 3.9 | 133 | 8.7 |
Vermont |
262 | 32 | 12.3 | 37 | 14.2 | 284 | 34 | 12.1 | 38 | 13.4 |
Virginia |
3,685 | 176 | 4.8 | 240 | 6.5 | 3,906 | 146 | 3.7 | 175 | 4.5 |
Washington |
3,308 | 629 | 19.0 | 661 | 20.0 | 3,413 | 615 | 18.0 | 653 | 19.1 |
West Virginia |
693 | 66 | 9.6 | 73 | 10.5 | 689 | 64 | 9.2 | 69 | 10.0 |
Wisconsin |
2,705 | 215 | 7.9 | 251 | 9.3 | 2,648 | 187 | 7.1 | 212 | 8.0 |
Wyoming |
234 | 13 | 5.7 | 16 | 6.9 | 243 | 14 | 5.6 | 18 | 7.3 |
Footnotes |
||||||||||
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. |
Last Modified Date: Wednesday, February 15, 2023