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News Release Information

18-300-SAN
Tuesday, March 06, 2018

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

Union Members in Arizona — 2017

In 2017, union members accounted for 4.0 percent of wage and salary workers in Arizona, compared with 4.5 percent in 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the union membership rate for the state was at its peak in 2007 and 2008, when it averaged 8.8 percent, and at the series low in 2017 at 4.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Nationwide, union members accounted for 10.7 percent of employed wage and salary workers in 2017, unchanged from 2016. Since 1989, when comparable state data became available, union membership rates in Arizona have been below the U.S. average.

  Chart 1. Members of unions as a percent of employed in the United States and Arizona, 2007-2017

Arizona had 111,000 union members in 2017. In addition to these members, another 34,000 wage and salary workers in Arizona were represented by a union on their main job or covered by an employee association or contract while not union members themselves. (See table A.) Nationwide, 14.8 million wage and salary workers were union members in 2017 and 1.6 million wage and salary workers were not affiliated with a union but had jobs covered by a union contract.

Table A. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers in Arizona, annual averages, 2007–2017 (numbers in thousands)
Year Total employed Members of unions (1) Represented by unions (2)
Total Percent of employed Total Percent of employed

2007

2,619 230 8.8 255 9.7

2008

2,579 227 8.8 254 9.8

2009

2,471 162 6.5 194 7.9

2010

2,507 161 6.4 203 8.1

2011

2,493 149 6.0 183 7.3

2012

2,434 125 5.1 159 6.5

2013

2,452 122 5.0 147 6.0

2014

2,593 138 5.3 173 6.7

2015

2,661 138 5.2 163 6.1

2016

2,727 122 4.5 151 5.5

2017

2,805 111 4.0 145 5.2

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.
 

In 2017, 27 states and the District of Columbia had union membership rates below that of the U.S. average, 10.7 percent, while 22 states had rates above it and 1 state had the same rate. (See table 1.) Nine states had union membership rates below 5.0 percent in 2017, with South Carolina having the lowest rate (2.6 percent). The next lowest rates were in North Carolina (3.4 percent) and Utah (3.9 percent). Two states had union membership rates over 20.0 percent in 2017: New York (23.8 percent) and Hawaii (21.3 percent). (See chart 2.) 

Nationwide, union membership rates increased over the year in 25 states and the District of Columbia, decreased in 21 states, and were unchanged in 4 states.

The largest numbers of union members lived in California (2.5 million) and New York (2.0 million). Over half of the 14.8 million union members in the U.S. lived in just seven states (California, 2.5 million; New York, 2.0 million; Illinois, 0.8 million; Michigan and Pennsylvania, 0.7 million each; and New Jersey and Ohio, 0.6 million each), though these states accounted for only about one third of wage and salary employment nationally.


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.

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 https://www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm.

Information about the reliability of data from the CPS and guidance on estimating standard errors is available at https://www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#reliability.

Definitions

The 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 sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200, Federal Relay Service: 800-877-8339.

Table 1. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by state, 2016-2017 annual averages (numbers in thousands)
State 2016 2017
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

1,895 153 8.1 170 9.0 1,869 138 7.4 152 8.1

Alaska

297 55 18.5 59 19.9 304 55 18.1 59 19.4

Arizona

2,727 122 4.5 151 5.5 2,805 111 4.0 145 5.2

Arkansas

1,186 47 3.9 59 5.0 1,209 62 5.1 74 6.1

California

16,001 2,551 15.9 2,796 17.5 16,064 2,491 15.5 2,708 16.9

Colorado

2,438 238 9.8 263 10.8 2,494 238 9.6 273 11.0

Connecticut

1,568 275 17.5 288 18.4 1,645 278 16.9 295 17.9

Delaware

419 48 11.4 56 13.3 425 45 10.7 48 11.2

District of Columbia

343 32 9.5 37 10.7 347 34 9.8 40 11.5

Florida

8,113 456 5.6 574 7.1 8,573 480 5.6 570 6.6

Georgia

4,249 165 3.9 210 4.9 4,342 173 4.0 217 5.0

Hawaii

597 119 19.9 125 20.9 605 129 21.3 139 22.9

Idaho

689 42 6.1 47 6.8 723 35 4.8 42 5.8

Illinois

5,587 812 14.5 856 15.3 5,516 827 15.0 872 15.8

Indiana

2,927 304 10.4 335 11.4 2,987 266 8.9 289 9.7

Iowa

1,454 129 8.9 153 10.5 1,475 104 7.0 127 8.6

Kansas

1,274 109 8.6 132 10.3 1,296 101 7.8 131 10.1

Kentucky

1,710 190 11.1 228 13.4 1,810 174 9.6 232 12.8

Louisiana

1,799 76 4.2 88 4.9 1,780 78 4.4 96 5.4

Maine

567 65 11.4 77 13.5 576 66 11.4 81 14.0

Maryland

2,815 310 11.0 347 12.3 2,772 299 10.8 326 11.8

Massachusetts

3,158 381 12.1 407 12.9 3,231 401 12.4 431 13.3

Michigan

4,196 606 14.4 651 15.5 4,230 658 15.6 711 16.8

Minnesota

2,563 365 14.2 388 15.2 2,693 411 15.2 428 15.9

Mississippi

1,108 73 6.6 90 8.1 1,106 59 5.3 77 7.0

Missouri

2,711 262 9.7 290 10.7 2,613 226 8.7 265 10.1

Montana

418 50 11.9 58 13.9 419 50 11.9 57 13.6

Nebraska

876 64 7.4 74 8.5 858 70 8.2 78 9.1

Nevada

1,211 146 12.1 182 15.0 1,290 164 12.7 189 14.6

New Hampshire

669 63 9.4 74 11.0 642 72 11.3 83 13.0

New Jersey

4,007 644 16.1 666 16.6 3,898 630 16.2 665 17.1

New Mexico

784 49 6.3 64 8.2 769 52 6.7 63 8.3

New York

8,227 1,942 23.6 2,075 25.2 8,472 2,017 23.8 2,148 25.3

North Carolina

4,225 129 3.0 174 4.1 4,305 145 3.4 171 4.0

North Dakota

363 20 5.5 25 7.0 356 18 5.1 24 6.8

Ohio

4,970 617 12.4 702 14.1 5,062 635 12.5 688 13.6

Oklahoma

1,482 80 5.4 97 6.6 1,536 84 5.5 108 7.1

Oregon

1,691 228 13.5 267 15.8 1,763 262 14.9 277 15.7

Pennsylvania

5,686 685 12.1 724 12.7 5,543 665 12.0 723 13.0

Rhode Island

481 74 15.5 81 16.9 486 78 16.1 84 17.2

South Carolina

1,981 32 1.6 52 2.6 1,986 52 2.6 78 3.9

South Dakota

379 20 5.2 26 7.0 380 20 5.4 25 6.7

Tennessee

2,746 158 5.7 174 6.4 2,728 155 5.7 176 6.4

Texas

11,457 462 4.0 606 5.3 11,626 543 4.7 669 5.8

Utah

1,318 62 4.7 79 6.0 1,375 54 3.9 74 5.4

Vermont

290 33 11.5 37 12.9 288 32 11.0 35 12.1

Virginia

3,748 160 4.3 226 6.0 3,801 176 4.6 222 5.8

Washington

3,090 539 17.4 577 18.7 3,112 584 18.8 630 20.2

West Virginia

669 79 11.8 88 13.2 683 75 11.0 82 11.9

Wisconsin

2,696 219 8.1 244 9.0 2,778 230 8.3 250 9.0

Wyoming

248 16 6.3 18 7.3 243 15 6.0 16 6.7

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.
 

  Chart 2. Union membership rates by state, 2017 annual averages

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, March 06, 2018