For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Thursday, January 28, 2016 USDL-16-0158 

Technical information: (202) 691-6378 • cpsinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/cps 

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov 

UNION MEMBERS — 2015

The union membership rate—the percent of wage and salary workers who were members of unions—

was 11.1 percent in 2015, unchanged from 2014, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The 

number of wage and salary workers belonging to unions, at 14.8 million in 2015, was little different 

from 2014. In 1983, the first year for which comparable union data are available, the union membership 

rate was 20.1 percent, and there were 17.7 million union workers. 

The data on union membership are collected as part of the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly 

sample survey of about 60,000 eligible households that obtains information on employment and 

unemployment among the nation's civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and over. For more 

information, see the Technical Note.

Highlights from the 2015 data: 

• Public-sector workers had a union membership rate (35.2 percent) more than five times higher 

than that of private-sector workers (6.7 percent). (See table 3.)

• Workers in protective service occupations and in education, training, and library occupations had

the highest unionization rates (36.3 percent and 35.5 percent, respectively). (See table 3.) 

• Men continued to have a slightly higher union membership rate (11.5 percent) than women (10.6 

percent). (See table 1.) 

• Black workers were more likely to be union members than were White, Asian, or Hispanic 

workers. (See table 1.) 

• Median weekly earnings of nonunion workers ($776) were 79 percent of earnings for workers 

who were union members ($980). (The comparisons of earnings in this release are on a broad 

level and do not control for many factors that can be important in explaining earnings 

differences.) (See table 2.)

• Among states, New York continued to have the highest union membership rate (24.7 percent),

while South Carolina had the lowest (2.1 percent). (See table 5.) 

Industry and Occupation of Union Members

In 2015, 7.2 million employees in the public sector belonged to a union, compared with 7.6 million 

workers in the private sector. The union membership rate for public-sector workers (35.2 percent) was 

substantially higher than the rate for private-sector workers (6.7 percent). Within the public sector, the 

union membership rate was highest for local government (41.3 percent), which includes employees in 

heavily unionized occupations, such as teachers, police officers, and firefighters. In the private sector, 

industries with high unionization rates included utilities (21.4 percent), transportation and warehousing 
- 2 - 

(18.9 percent), educational services (13.7 percent), telecommunications (13.3 percent), and construction 

(13.2 percent). Low unionization rates occurred in agriculture and related industries (1.2 percent), 

finance (1.3 percent), food services and drinking places (1.5 percent), and professional and technical 

services (1.7 percent). (See table 3.)

Among occupational groups, the highest unionization rates in 2015 were in protective service 

occupations (36.3 percent) and in education, training, and library occupations (35.5 percent). The lowest 

unionization rates were in farming, fishing, and forestry occupations (1.9 percent) and in sales and 

related occupations (3.3 percent). (See table 3.)

Selected Characteristics of Union Members

In 2015, the union membership rate continued to be slightly higher for men (11.5 percent) than for 

women (10.6 percent). (See table 1.) The gap between their rates has narrowed considerably since 1983 

(the earliest year for which comparable data are available), when rates for men and women were 24.7 

percent and 14.6 percent, respectively. 

Among major race and ethnicity groups, Black workers continued to have a higher union membership 

rate in 2015 (13.6 percent) than workers who were White (10.8 percent), Asian (9.8 percent), or 

Hispanic (9.4 percent).

By age, union membership rates continued to be highest among workers ages 45 to 64. In 2015, 13.6 

percent of workers ages 45 to 54 and 14.3 percent of those ages 55 to 64 were union members. 

The union membership rate was 12.2 percent for full-time workers, more than twice the rate for parttime workers, 5.9 percent.

Union Representation

In 2015, 16.4 million wage and salary workers were represented by a union. This group includes both 

union members (14.8 million) and workers who report no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered 

by a union contract (1.6 million). (See table 1.) 

Earnings 

Among full-time wage and salary workers, union members had median usual weekly earnings of $980 

in 2015, while those who were not union members had median weekly earnings of $776. In addition to

coverage by a collective bargaining agreement, this earnings difference reflects a variety of influences,

including variations in the distributions of union members and nonunion employees by occupation,

industry, age, firm size, or geographic region. (See tables 2 and 4.)

Union Membership by State

In 2015, 30 states and the District of Columbia had union membership rates below that of the U.S. 

average, 11.1 percent, and 20 states had rates above it. All states in the East South Central and West 

South Central divisions had union membership rates below the national average, and all states in the 

Middle Atlantic and Pacific divisions had rates above it. Union membership rates increased over the 

year in 24 states and the District of Columbia, declined in 23 states, and were unchanged in 3 states. 

(See table 5 and the map.)
- 3 - 

Five states had union membership rates below 5.0 percent in 2015: South Carolina (2.1 percent), North 

Carolina (3.0 percent), Utah (3.9 percent), Georgia (4.0 percent), and Texas (4.5 percent). Two states 

had union membership rates over 20.0 percent in 2015: New York (24.7 percent) and Hawaii (20.4 

percent). 

State union membership levels depend on both the employment level and the union membership rate. 

The largest numbers of union members lived in California (2.5 million) and New York (2.0 million). 

Roughly 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; Pennsylvania, 0.7 million; and Michigan, Ohio, and 

New Jersey, 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 and earnings 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 in this release will be made available to sensory 

impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-

5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Reliability of the estimates

 Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and 

nonsampling error. When a sample, rather than the entire 

population, is surveyed, there is a chance that the sample 

estimates may differ from the true population values they 

represent. The exact difference, or sampling error, varies 

depending on the particular sample selected, and this variability 

is measured by the standard error of the estimate. There is about 

a 90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that an estimate 

based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 standard 

errors from the true population value because of sampling error. 

BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level of

confidence. The state section of this release preserves the longtime practice of highlighting the direction of the movements in 

state union membership rates and levels regardless of their 

statistical significance.

 The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. 

Nonsampling error can occur for many reasons, including the 

failure to sample a segment of the population, inability to obtain 

information for all respondents in the sample, inability or 

unwillingness of respondents to provide correct information, 

and errors made in the collection or processing of the data.

 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.

Union membership questions 

 Employed wage and salary workers are classified as union 

members if they answer “yes” to the following question: On this 

job, are you a member of a labor union or of an employee 

association similar to a union? If the response is “no” to that 

question, then the interviewer asks a second question: On this 

job, are you covered by a union or employee association 

contract? If the response is “yes,” then these persons, along 

with those who responded “yes” to being union members, are 

classified as represented by a union. If the response is “no” to 

both the first and second questions, then they are classified as 

nonunion.

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.

 Nonunion. Data refer to workers who are neither members of 

a union nor represented by a union on their job.

 Usual weekly earnings. Data represent earnings before taxes 

and other deductions and include any overtime pay, 

commissions, or tips usually received (at the main job in the 

case of multiple jobholders). Prior to 1994, respondents were 

asked how much they usually earned per week. Since January 

1994, respondents have been asked to identify the easiest way 

for them to report earnings (hourly, weekly, biweekly, twice 

monthly, monthly, annually, other) and how much they usually 

earn in the reported time period. Earnings reported on a basis 

other than weekly are converted to a weekly equivalent. The 

term "usual" is as perceived by the respondent. If the respondent 

asks for a definition of usual, interviewers are instructed to 

define the term as more than half of the weeks worked during 

the past 4 or 5 months.

 Median earnings. The median is the amount which divides a 

given earnings distribution into two equal groups, one having 

earnings above the median and the other having earnings below 

the median. The estimating procedure places each reported or 

calculated weekly earnings value into $50-wide intervals which 

are centered around multiples of $50. The actual value is 

estimated through the linear interpolation of the interval in 

which the median lies.

 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.

 Full-time workers. Workers who usually work 35 hours or 

more per week at their sole or principal job.

 Part-time workers. Workers who usually work fewer than 35 

hours per week at their sole or principal job.

 Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. Refers to persons who identified 

themselves in the enumeration process as being Spanish, 

Hispanic, or Latino. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as 

Hispanic or Latino may be of any race
Table 1. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by selected characteristics, 2014-2015 annual

averages

[Numbers in thousands]

Characteristic

2014 2015

Total

employed

Members

of

unions1

Represented

by unions2

Total

employed

Members

of

unions1

Represented

by unions2

Total

Percent

of

employed

Total

Percent

of

employed

Total

Percent

of

employed

Total

Percent

of

employed

AGE AND SEX

Total, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131,431 14,576 11.1 16,152 12.3 133,743 14,795 11.1 16,441 12.3

16 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,019 804 4.5 956 5.3 18,311 800 4.4 967 5.3

25 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113,412 13,772 12.1 15,196 13.4 115,431 13,995 12.1 15,474 13.4

25 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30,158 2,879 9.5 3,205 10.6 30,870 2,985 9.7 3,363 10.9

35 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27,948 3,460 12.4 3,823 13.7 28,101 3,457 12.3 3,785 13.5

45 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,540 3,927 13.8 4,286 15.0 28,764 3,909 13.6 4,306 15.0

55 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,781 2,924 14.1 3,229 15.5 21,288 3,035 14.3 3,329 15.6

65 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,985 582 9.7 653 10.9 6,408 610 9.5 691 10.8

Men, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68,048 7,939 11.7 8,717 12.8 69,298 7,963 11.5 8,760 12.6

16 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,141 462 5.1 540 5.9 9,250 485 5.2 563 6.1

25 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58,907 7,476 12.7 8,177 13.9 60,048 7,478 12.5 8,197 13.7

25 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,172 1,611 10.0 1,773 11.0 16,550 1,639 9.9 1,825 11.0

35 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,769 1,913 13.0 2,108 14.3 14,844 1,857 12.5 2,023 13.6

45 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,508 2,085 14.4 2,256 15.6 14,696 2,079 14.1 2,281 15.5

55 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,419 1,553 14.9 1,689 16.2 10,698 1,588 14.8 1,717 16.0

65 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,040 315 10.4 351 11.5 3,259 315 9.7 352 10.8

Women, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63,383 6,638 10.5 7,434 11.7 64,445 6,833 10.6 7,681 11.9

16 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,879 342 3.8 416 4.7 9,061 315 3.5 405 4.5

25 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54,505 6,296 11.6 7,019 12.9 55,384 6,518 11.8 7,277 13.1

25 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,985 1,268 9.1 1,431 10.2 14,320 1,346 9.4 1,538 10.7

35 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,180 1,548 11.7 1,715 13.0 13,257 1,600 12.1 1,762 13.3

45 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,032 1,842 13.1 2,030 14.5 14,068 1,830 13.0 2,025 14.4

55 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,362 1,371 13.2 1,541 14.9 10,590 1,447 13.7 1,613 15.2

65 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,946 267 9.1 302 10.2 3,149 294 9.3 339 10.8

RACE, HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY,

AND SEX

White, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104,065 11,274 10.8 12,503 12.0 104,991 11,301 10.8 12,627 12.0

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54,747 6,295 11.5 6,900 12.6 55,402 6,222 11.2 6,875 12.4

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49,318 4,979 10.1 5,602 11.4 49,590 5,079 10.2 5,752 11.6

Black or African American, 16 years and over. . . . . . 15,830 2,097 13.2 2,303 14.6 16,552 2,246 13.6 2,427 14.7

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,243 1,047 14.5 1,147 15.8 7,558 1,097 14.5 1,174 15.5

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,586 1,050 12.2 1,156 13.5 8,995 1,149 12.8 1,253 13.9

Asian, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,476 779 10.4 866 11.6 7,883 770 9.8 860 10.9

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,921 361 9.2 416 10.6 4,113 367 8.9 416 10.1

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,555 418 11.8 450 12.6 3,770 403 10.7 444 11.8

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 16 years and over. . . . 21,571 1,978 9.2 2,220 10.3 22,351 2,104 9.4 2,365 10.6

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,339 1,155 9.4 1,286 10.4 12,670 1,211 9.6 1,346 10.6

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,232 823 8.9 933 10.1 9,681 892 9.2 1,019 10.5

FULL- OR PART-TIME STATUS3

Full-time workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106,526 13,132 12.3 14,491 13.6 109,080 13,340 12.2 14,768 13.5

Part-time workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,707 1,424 5.8 1,636 6.6 24,445 1,431 5.9 1,646 6.7

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.

3 The distinction between full- and part-time workers is based on hours usually worked. These data will not sum to totals because full- or part-time status on the principal

job is not identifiable for a small number of multiple jobholders.

NOTE: Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. Persons

whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. 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.
Table 2. Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by union affiliation and selected

characteristics, 2014-2015 annual averages

Characteristic

2014 2015

Total

Members

of

unions1

Represented

by unions2

Nonunion3 Total

Members

of

unions1

Represented

by unions2

Nonunion3

AGE AND SEX

Total, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $791 $970 $965 $763 $809 $980 $975 $776

16 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477 602 605 470 487 616 605 482

25 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 839 987 985 810 860 997 994 831

25 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726 874 867 705 735 886 882 716

35 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 881 1,034 1,029 848 900 1,050 1,048 870

45 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 899 1,025 1,022 872 923 1,029 1,024 899

55 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 911 1,014 1,017 885 927 1,020 1,017 904

65 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 824 908 920 813 873 961 963 852

Men, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 871 1,015 1,013 840 895 1,017 1,014 869

16 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493 644 643 485 510 655 633 505

25 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 922 1,036 1,035 899 947 1,041 1,038 927

25 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 755 896 889 740 770 888 889 756

35 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 964 1,102 1,097 933 983 1,093 1,094 963

45 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,011 1,083 1,088 994 1,040 1,107 1,110 1,023

55 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,021 1,068 1,076 1,007 1,064 1,084 1,082 1,059

65 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 942 921 936 943 1,003 1,010 998 1,005

Women, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 719 904 899 687 726 928 921 697

16 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451 557 562 445 450 567 565 443

25 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 752 921 917 728 761 944 940 736

25 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 679 848 843 655 690 884 876 667

35 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 781 962 956 751 804 1,002 1,001 764

45 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 780 951 945 754 799 958 950 768

55 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 780 931 935 757 784 937 934 759

65 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 740 879 887 719 740 894 905 718

RACE, HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY,

AND SEX

White, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 816 997 992 784 835 1,007 999 803

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 897 1,043 1,041 867 920 1,051 1,044 895

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 734 929 923 704 743 952 944 715

Black or African American, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 639 810 807 611 641 800 798 617

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 680 835 833 648 680 824 821 650

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611 792 788 590 615 768 768 595

Asian, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 953 979 998 948 993 1,094 1,107 977

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,080 1,028 1,041 1,087 1,129 1,097 1,125 1,130

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 841 939 950 823 877 1,091 1,090 835

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594 811 795 573 604 862 847 586

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 616 860 838 596 631 901 887 610

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548 757 739 520 566 778 783 541

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.

3 Data refer to workers who are neither members of a union nor represented by a union on their job.

NOTE: Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Data refer to the sole or principal job of full-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.
Table 3. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by occupation and industry, 2014-2015 annual

averages

[Numbers in thousands]

Occupation and industry

2014 2015

Total

employed

Members

of

unions1

Represented

by unions2

Total

employed

Members

of

unions1

Represented

by unions2

Total

Percent

of

employed

Total

Percent

of

employed

Total

Percent

of

employed

Total

Percent

of

employed

OCCUPATION

Management, professional, and related

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48,890 5,835 11.9 6,612 13.5 50,939 6,132 12.0 6,983 13.7

Management, business, and financial operations

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,717 870 4.6 1,016 5.4 19,636 871 4.4 1,057 5.4

Management occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,550 562 4.5 653 5.2 13,213 581 4.4 701 5.3

Business and financial operations

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,168 308 5.0 362 5.9 6,423 290 4.5 356 5.5

Professional and related occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . 30,173 4,965 16.5 5,597 18.5 31,302 5,261 16.8 5,926 18.9

Computer and mathematical occupations. . . . . . 4,057 169 4.2 223 5.5 4,195 162 3.9 221 5.3

Architecture and engineering occupations. . . . . 2,635 160 6.1 190 7.2 2,777 190 6.8 219 7.9

Life, physical, and social science

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,232 122 9.9 149 12.1 1,309 109 8.3 139 10.6

Community and social service occupations. . . . 2,373 358 15.1 396 16.7 2,517 386 15.3 412 16.4

Legal occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,440 86 6.0 107 7.5 1,475 83 5.6 100 6.8

Education, training, and library occupations. . . 8,437 2,976 35.3 3,279 38.9 8,766 3,112 35.5 3,466 39.5

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,071 117 5.6 137 6.6 2,120 161 7.6 187 8.8

Healthcare practitioner and technical

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,928 977 12.3 1,115 14.1 8,142 1,059 13.0 1,183 14.5

Service occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23,481 2,498 10.6 2,740 11.7 23,503 2,492 10.6 2,759 11.7

Healthcare support occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,326 305 9.2 346 10.4 3,305 279 8.4 314 9.5

Protective service occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,128 1,103 35.3 1,166 37.3 3,092 1,123 36.3 1,189 38.5

Food preparation and serving related

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,021 338 4.2 389 4.9 8,016 329 4.1 381 4.8

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,916 504 10.2 560 11.4 4,868 473 9.7 537 11.0

Personal care and service occupations. . . . . . . . . . 4,090 248 6.1 279 6.8 4,222 288 6.8 338 8.0

Sales and office occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30,903 2,023 6.5 2,277 7.4 30,931 2,055 6.6 2,311 7.5

Sales and related occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,529 415 3.1 499 3.7 13,574 441 3.3 505 3.7

Office and administrative support occupations. . . 17,374 1,608 9.3 1,778 10.2 17,357 1,614 9.3 1,806 10.4

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,627 1,782 15.3 1,909 16.4 11,694 1,751 15.0 1,868 16.0

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations. . . . . . . 935 24 2.5 30 3.2 971 18 1.9 25 2.5

Construction and extraction occupations. . . . . . . . . 6,196 1,104 17.8 1,167 18.8 6,193 1,067 17.2 1,133 18.3

Installation, maintenance, and repair

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,496 655 14.6 711 15.8 4,530 666 14.7 710 15.7

Production, transportation, and material moving

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,530 2,438 14.8 2,614 15.8 16,676 2,365 14.2 2,521 15.1

Production occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,098 1,066 13.2 1,150 14.2 8,180 1,031 12.6 1,098 13.4

Transportation and material moving

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,432 1,372 16.3 1,464 17.4 8,496 1,334 15.7 1,422 16.7

INDUSTRY

Private sector. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111,228 7,359 6.6 8,224 7.4 113,152 7,554 6.7 8,411 7.4

Agriculture and related industries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,199 14 1.1 19 1.6 1,269 15 1.2 22 1.7

Nonagricultural industries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110,028 7,345 6.7 8,205 7.5 111,882 7,539 6.7 8,389 7.5

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction.. . 1,040 50 4.8 61 5.9 866 47 5.4 57 6.5

Construction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,968 968 13.9 1,023 14.7 7,109 940 13.2 992 14.0

Manufacturing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,471 1,409 9.7 1,517 10.5 14,547 1,369 9.4 1,462 10.0

Durable goods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,111 876 9.6 944 10.4 9,288 874 9.4 933 10.0

Nondurable goods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,359 534 10.0 572 10.7 5,258 494 9.4 529 10.1

Wholesale and retail trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,372 769 4.2 892 4.9 18,798 871 4.6 962 5.1

Wholesale trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,232 107 3.3 129 4.0 3,346 126 3.8 139 4.2

Retail trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,141 662 4.4 763 5.0 15,452 745 4.8 823 5.3

Transportation and utilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,750 1,153 20.1 1,217 21.2 5,722 1,106 19.3 1,159 20.3

Transportation and warehousing. . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,814 945 19.6 996 20.7 4,765 901 18.9 946 19.8

Utilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 935 209 22.3 221 23.7 957 205 21.4 213 22.3

Information3

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,681 231 8.6 255 9.5 2,525 217 8.6 249 9.9

Publishing, except Internet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581 21 3.6 22 3.8 495 19 3.9 22 4.4

Motion pictures and sound recording

industries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347 25 7.3 29 8.2 314 37 11.7 40 12.8

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 3. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by occupation and industry, 2014-2015 annual

averages — Continued

[Numbers in thousands]

Occupation and industry

2014 2015

Total

employed

Members

of

unions1

Represented

by unions2

Total

employed

Members

of

unions1

Represented

by unions2

Total

Percent

of

employed

Total

Percent

of

employed

Total

Percent

of

employed

Total

Percent

of

employed

Radio and television broadcasting and

cable subscription programming. . . . . . . . . . . 569 40 7.0 43 7.6 561 37 6.7 48 8.5

Telecommunications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 915 135 14.8 151 16.5 883 118 13.3 131 14.8

Financial activities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,481 169 2.0 200 2.4 8,781 208 2.4 242 2.8

Finance and insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,409 92 1.4 112 1.8 6,550 103 1.6 129 2.0

Finance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,039 53 1.3 63 1.6 4,126 53 1.3 70 1.7

Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,370 39 1.6 49 2.1 2,424 51 2.1 59 2.4

Real estate and rental and leasing. . . . . . . . . . 2,071 77 3.7 88 4.2 2,231 105 4.7 113 5.1

Professional and business services. . . . . . . . . . . . 13,300 309 2.3 389 2.9 13,738 348 2.5 458 3.3

Professional and technical services. . . . . . . . . 8,045 109 1.4 157 2.0 8,327 142 1.7 218 2.6

Management, administrative, and waste

services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,254 199 3.8 232 4.4 5,411 206 3.8 240 4.4

Education and health services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21,147 1,728 8.2 2,003 9.5 21,572 1,867 8.7 2,132 9.9

Educational services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,338 508 11.7 599 13.8 4,551 625 13.7 720 15.8

Health care and social assistance. . . . . . . . . . . 16,809 1,220 7.3 1,404 8.4 17,021 1,242 7.3 1,412 8.3

Leisure and hospitality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,997 387 3.2 454 3.8 12,357 389 3.1 449 3.6

Arts, entertainment, and recreation. . . . . . . . . . 2,166 140 6.5 158 7.3 2,250 144 6.4 158 7.0

Accommodation and food services. . . . . . . . . . 9,831 247 2.5 296 3.0 10,107 245 2.4 291 2.9

Accommodation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,455 130 8.9 143 9.8 1,575 116 7.4 127 8.0

Food services and drinking places. . . . . . . . 8,377 117 1.4 153 1.8 8,532 129 1.5 165 1.9

Other services3

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,821 171 2.9 193 3.3 5,867 177 3.0 227 3.9

Other services, except private households.. . 5,026 157 3.1 178 3.5 5,055 166 3.3 205 4.1

Public sector. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,203 7,218 35.7 7,927 39.2 20,591 7,241 35.2 8,031 39.0

Federal government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,408 939 27.5 1,078 31.6 3,591 979 27.3 1,160 32.3

State government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,264 1,867 29.8 2,056 32.8 6,875 2,079 30.2 2,312 33.6

Local government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,532 4,412 41.9 4,793 45.5 10,126 4,183 41.3 4,559 45.0

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.

3

Includes other industries, not shown separately.

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.
Table 4. Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by union affiliation, occupation, and

industry, 2014-2015 annual averages

Occupation and industry

2014 2015

Total

Members

of

unions1

Represented

by unions2

Nonunion3 Total

Members

of

unions1

Represented

by unions2

Nonunion3

OCCUPATION

Management, professional, and related occupations. . . . . . . . . $1,137 $1,132 $1,129 $1,139 $1,158 $1,152 $1,148 $1,160

Management, business, and financial operations

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,227 1,246 1,243 1,226 1,258 1,273 1,291 1,257

Management occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,295 1,333 1,333 1,292 1,351 1,386 1,380 1,349

Business and financial operations occupations. . . . . . . . . . 1,107 1,135 1,131 1,104 1,137 1,108 1,132 1,138

Professional and related occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,078 1,117 1,112 1,068 1,112 1,140 1,132 1,103

Computer and mathematical occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,368 1,288 1,277 1,373 1,428 1,388 1,327 1,434

Architecture and engineering occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,377 1,416 1,424 1,370 1,424 1,393 1,399 1,427

Life, physical, and social science occupations. . . . . . . . . . . 1,168 1,271 1,276 1,141 1,206 1,249 1,266 1,187

Community and social service occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 858 1,017 1,010 822 889 1,014 1,008 855

Legal occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,271 1,208 1,333 1,270 1,391 1,551 1,547 1,373

Education, training, and library occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . 953 1,077 1,069 851 956 1,095 1,074 860

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 956 1,130 1,110 946 1,001 1,228 1,212 984

Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations. . . . . . . 1,033 1,128 1,115 1,020 1,041 1,211 1,194 1,014

Service occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505 762 751 482 509 753 742 489

Healthcare support occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498 569 558 493 498 544 546 495

Protective service occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 833 1,107 1,093 687 796 1,031 1,029 687

Food preparation and serving related occupations. . . . . . . . . 439 535 525 433 441 515 512 436

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480 644 633 456 486 648 628 469

Personal care and service occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487 591 583 480 498 515 521 496

Sales and office occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 666 788 788 654 673 810 801 662

Sales and related occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 705 728 724 704 716 702 710 716

Office and administrative support occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . 651 801 801 632 656 831 821 639

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 756 1,076 1,062 705 761 1,070 1,052 711

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429 – – 423 464 – – 460

Construction and extraction occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 756 1,095 1,078 697 749 1,082 1,064 695

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations. . . . . . . . . 821 1,064 1,057 782 839 1,066 1,051 799

Production, transportation, and material moving

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 642 838 830 614 656 850 842 622

Production occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 646 825 824 620 663 824 826 635

Transportation and material moving occupations. . . . . . . . . . 637 850 836 608 646 876 859 610

INDUSTRY

Private sector. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 763 907 900 753 776 917 912 765

Agriculture and related industries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 502 – – 501 522 – – 519

Nonagricultural industries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 767 907 901 756 781 918 913 769

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction. . . . . . . . . . . . 1,136 1,150 1,176 1,130 1,162 – 1,170 1,162

Construction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 775 1,123 1,108 724 784 1,099 1,093 743

Manufacturing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 812 861 854 807 839 876 868 833

Durable goods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 840 888 886 833 872 889 881 871

Nondurable goods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 765 808 795 761 776 849 841 768

Wholesale and retail trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 641 669 670 638 653 673 671 652

Wholesale trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 818 772 773 821 841 876 863 840

Retail trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 602 641 643 600 610 621 622 609

Transportation and utilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 826 1,011 1,009 785 843 1,007 1,003 803

Transportation and warehousing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 780 947 947 748 790 980 977 754

Utilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,156 1,275 1,283 1,078 1,133 1,194 1,188 1,116

Information4

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,040 1,115 1,090 1,029 1,102 1,260 1,242 1,077

Publishing, except Internet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,068 – – 1,081 1,098 – – 1,102

Motion pictures and sound recording industries. . . . . . . 1,021 – – 993 996 – – 935

Radio and television broadcasting and cable

subscription programming. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 902 – – 879 980 – – 968

Telecommunications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,145 1,143 1,114 1,151 1,162 1,212 1,208 1,148

Financial activities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 941 879 884 942 964 915 924 964

Finance and insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 989 880 893 991 1,024 983 1,004 1,024

Finance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,012 862 889 1,014 1,061 923 1,082 1,060

Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 959 – – 960 973 988 981 973

Real estate and rental and leasing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 768 876 869 762 782 891 893 772

Professional and business services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 915 805 851 918 951 874 906 953

Professional and technical services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,199 1,081 1,145 1,203 1,256 1,297 1,268 1,255

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 4. Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by union affiliation, occupation, and

industry, 2014-2015 annual averages — Continued

Occupation and industry

2014 2015

Total

Members

of

unions1

Represented

by unions2

Nonunion3 Total

Members

of

unions1

Represented

by unions2

Nonunion3

Management, administrative, and waste services. . . . . $580 $743 $735 $575 $605 $684 $672 $603

Education and health services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 777 926 925 763 787 962 946 768

Educational services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 902 967 978 879 918 1,025 1,015 896

Health care and social assistance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 750 893 886 740 754 916 904 742

Leisure and hospitality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505 636 624 500 515 606 592 511

Arts, entertainment, and recreation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 650 688 683 642 657 672 680 655

Accommodation and food services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481 602 591 478 492 579 558 489

Accommodation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544 639 639 522 546 645 639 532

Food services and drinking places. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465 496 485 465 480 492 490 480

Other services4

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 644 871 843 636 684 903 879 677

Other services, except private households. . . . . . . . . . . . 671 887 865 662 710 916 900 703

Public sector. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 927 1,014 1,014 850 944 1,029 1,023 878

Federal government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,103 1,050 1,072 1,136 1,113 1,058 1,064 1,159

State government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 886 967 966 821 909 988 982 867

Local government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 899 1,026 1,020 780 914 1,043 1,033 783

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.

3 Data refer to workers who are neither members of a union nor represented by a union on their job.

4

Includes other industries, not shown separately.

- Data not shown where base is less than 50,000.

NOTE: Data refer to the sole or principal job of full-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.
Table 5. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by state, 2014-2015 annual averages

[Numbers in thousands]

State

2014 2015

Total

employed

Members

of

unions1

Represented

by unions2

Total

employed

Members

of

unions1

Represented

by unions2

Total

Percent

of

employed

Total

Percent

of

employed

Total

Percent

of

employed

Total

Percent

of

employed

Alabama. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,887 204 10.8 228 12.1 1,863 190 10.2 204 11.0

Alaska. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307 70 22.8 75 24.4 304 60 19.6 66 21.7

Arizona. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,593 138 5.3 173 6.7 2,661 138 5.2 163 6.1

Arkansas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,108 52 4.7 60 5.4 1,155 58 5.1 74 6.4

California. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,135 2,472 16.3 2,652 17.5 15,657 2,486 15.9 2,689 17.2

Colorado. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,328 221 9.5 250 10.7 2,310 194 8.4 215 9.3

Connecticut. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,564 231 14.8 245 15.7 1,587 269 17.0 277 17.4

Delaware. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384 38 9.9 43 11.3 412 38 9.2 43 10.4

District of Columbia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325 28 8.6 35 10.7 334 35 10.4 40 12.1

Florida. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,042 455 5.7 561 7.0 7,994 546 6.8 671 8.4

Georgia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,926 170 4.3 193 4.9 4,016 162 4.0 206 5.1

Hawaii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 572 124 21.8 131 22.9 583 119 20.4 126 21.7

Idaho. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 641 34 5.3 43 6.7 679 46 6.8 50 7.3

Illinois. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,500 831 15.1 880 16.0 5,566 847 15.2 892 16.0

Indiana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,802 299 10.7 335 12.0 2,828 283 10.0 319 11.3

Iowa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,459 156 10.7 184 12.6 1,435 138 9.6 174 12.2

Kansas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,287 95 7.4 116 9.0 1,255 110 8.7 136 10.8

Kentucky. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,714 189 11.0 219 12.8 1,705 187 11.0 207 12.1

Louisiana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,834 96 5.2 118 6.4 1,847 107 5.8 126 6.8

Maine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 566 62 11.0 71 12.5 549 64 11.6 75 13.6

Maryland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,612 310 11.9 347 13.3 2,757 287 10.4 337 12.2

Massachusetts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,036 415 13.7 445 14.7 3,103 402 12.9 441 14.2

Michigan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,028 585 14.5 631 15.7 4,083 621 15.2 672 16.5

Minnesota. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,538 360 14.2 380 15.0 2,565 363 14.2 385 15.0

Mississippi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,028 38 3.7 46 4.5 1,103 60 5.4 75 6.8

Missouri. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,559 214 8.4 249 9.7 2,615 230 8.8 257 9.8

Montana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414 52 12.7 57 13.8 427 52 12.2 59 13.9

Nebraska. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877 64 7.3 79 9.0 882 68 7.7 80 9.0

Nevada. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,173 169 14.4 192 16.4 1,232 177 14.3 203 16.5

New Hampshire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 626 62 9.9 72 11.5 641 62 9.7 73 11.4

New Jersey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,860 635 16.5 664 17.2 3,880 596 15.4 644 16.6

New Mexico. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 763 43 5.7 56 7.4 782 49 6.2 61 7.9

New York. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,060 1,980 24.6 2,081 25.8 8,249 2,038 24.7 2,141 26.0

North Carolina. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,936 76 1.9 126 3.2 4,089 123 3.0 167 4.1

North Dakota. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353 18 5.0 24 6.9 352 19 5.4 24 6.8

Ohio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,958 615 12.4 688 13.9 4,914 606 12.3 670 13.6

Oklahoma. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,465 89 6.0 106 7.2 1,567 88 5.6 116 7.4

Oregon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,554 243 15.6 264 17.0 1,586 235 14.8 256 16.2

Pennsylvania. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,525 703 12.7 754 13.7 5,601 747 13.3 804 14.4

Rhode Island. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453 68 15.1 72 15.8 483 68 14.2 72 14.9

South Carolina. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,884 41 2.2 61 3.2 1,960 41 2.1 57 2.9

South Dakota. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363 18 4.9 22 6.0 382 22 5.9 26 6.9

Tennessee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,514 127 5.0 141 5.6 2,693 146 5.4 175 6.5

Texas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,205 543 4.8 700 6.2 11,177 503 4.5 626 5.6

Utah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,236 46 3.7 57 4.6 1,274 50 3.9 67 5.2

Vermont. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286 32 11.1 37 13.1 284 36 12.6 42 14.7

Virginia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,665 179 4.9 228 6.2 3,736 202 5.4 258 6.9

Washington. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,914 491 16.8 536 18.4 2,977 500 16.8 536 18.0

West Virginia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 687 73 10.6 80 11.6 665 83 12.4 91 13.7

Wisconsin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,626 306 11.7 327 12.5 2,682 223 8.3 253 9.4

Wyoming. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255 17 6.7 19 7.5 261 19 7.1 22 8.2

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.
TEXAS

N.M.

CALIF.

MONT.

NEV.

ARIZ.

ORE.

S.D.

WYO.

COLO. KAN. MO.

N.D.

NEB.

UTAH

GA.

ILL.

MINN.

LA.

IDAHO

FLA.

PA.

WIS.

N.Y.

OKLA.

N.C.

KY.

ALA.

VA.

ARK.

WASH.

IOWA

MISS.

IND.

OHIO

S.C.

MICH.

TENN.

W.VA.

VT

MD.

HAWAII

ALASKA

Pacific

Mountain

West

North Central

East

North Central

New Englan

Middle

Atlantic

East

South Central

West

South Central

Chart 1. Union membership rates by state, 2015 

(U.S. rate = 11.1 percent)

Chart 1. Union membership rates by state, 2015 annu

(U.S. rate = 11.1 percent)