For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Friday, January 22, 2010 USDL-10-0069 

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

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

UNION MEMBERS - 2009 

In 2009, the union membership rate—the percent of wage and salary workers who were members of a 

union—was 12.3 percent, essentially unchanged from 12.4 percent a year earlier, the U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics reported today. The number of wage and salary workers belonging to unions declined by 

771,000 to 15.3 million, largely reflecting the overall drop in employment due to the recession. 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 were collected as part of the Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS 

is a monthly sample survey of about 60,000 households that obtains information on employment and 

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

Some highlights from the 2009 data are: 

 More public sector employees (7.9 million) belonged to a union than did private sector 

employees (7.4 million), despite there being 5 times more wage and salary workers in the 

private sector. 

 Workers in education, training, and library occupations had the highest unionization rate at 

38.1 percent. 

 Black workers were more likely to be union members than were white, Asian, or Hispanic 

workers. 

 Among states, New York had the highest union membership rate (25.2 percent) and North 

Carolina had the lowest rate (3.1 percent). 

Industry and Occupation of Union Members 

In 2009, 7.9 million public sector employees belonged to a union, compared with 7.4 million union 

workers in the private sector. The union membership rate for public sector workers (37.4 percent) was 

substantially higher than the rate for private industry workers (7.2 percent). Within the public sector, 

local government workers had the highest union membership rate, 43.3 percent. This group includes 

workers in heavily unionized occupations, such as teachers, police officers, and fire fighters. Private 

sector industries with high unionization rates included transportation and utilities (22.2 percent), 

telecommunications (16.0 percent), and construction (14.5 percent). In 2009, low unionization rates 
- 2 - 

occurred in agriculture and related industries (1.1 percent) and financial activities (1.8 percent). (See 

table 3.) 

Among occupational groups, education, training, and library occupations (38.1 percent) and protective 

service occupations (35.6 percent) had the highest unionization rates in 2009. Farming, fishing, and 

forestry occupations (2.8 percent) and sales and related occupations (3.1 percent) had the lowest unionization rates. (See table 3.) 

Demographic Characteristics of Union Members 

The union membership rate was higher for men (13.3 percent) than for women (11.3 percent) in 2009. 

(See table 1.) The gap between their rates has narrowed considerably since 1983, when the rate for men 

was about 10 percentage points higher than the rate for women. Between 1983 and 2009, the union 

membership rate for men declined by 11.4 percentage points, while the rate for women declined by 3.3 

percentage points. 

In 2009, among major race and ethnicity groups, black workers were more likely to be union members 

(13.9 percent) than workers who were white (12.1 percent), Asian (11.4 percent), or Hispanic (10.2 percent). Black men had the highest union membership rate (15.4 percent), while Hispanic women had the 

lowest rate (9.7 percent). 

By age, the union membership rate was highest among workers 55 to 64 years old (16.6 percent). The 

lowest union membership rate occurred among those ages 16 to 24 (4.7 percent). 

Union Representation 

In 2009, 16.9 million wage and salary workers were represented by a union. This group includes both 

union members (15.3 million) and workers who report no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered 

by a union contract (1.6 million). (See table 1.) Government employees (781,000) comprised nearly half 

of the 1.6 million workers who were covered by a union contract, but not members of a union. (See 

table 3.) 

Earnings 

In 2009, among full-time wage and salary workers, union members had median usual weekly earnings 

of $908, while those who were not represented by unions had median weekly earnings of $710. (See 

table 2.) In addition to coverage by a collective bargaining agreement, the difference reflects a variety 

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

occupation, industry, firm size, or geographic region. 

Union Membership by State 

In 2009, 29 states and the District of Columbia had union membership rates below that of the U.S. 

average, 12.3 percent, while 20 states had higher rates, and 1 state had the same rate. All states in the 

Middle Atlantic and Pacific divisions reported union membership rates above the national average, and 

all states in the East South Central and West South Central divisions had rates below it. Union membership rates rose over the year in 24 states, declined in 21 states and the District of Columbia, and were 

unchanged in 5 states. (See table 5.) 
- 3 - 

Six states had union membership rates below 5.0 percent in 2009, with North Carolina having the lowest rate (3.1 percent). The next lowest rates were recorded in Arkansas (4.2 percent), South Carolina 

(4.5 percent), Georgia (4.6 percent), Virginia (4.7 percent), and Mississippi (4.8 percent). Four states 

had union membership rates over 20.0 percent in 2009—New York (25.2 percent), Hawaii (23.5 percent), Alaska (22.3 percent), and Washington (20.2 percent). (See chart 1.) 

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

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

half of the 15.3 million union members in the U.S. lived in just 6 states (California, 2.5 million; New 

York, 2.0 million; Illinois, 1.0 million; Pennsylvania, 0.8 million; and Michigan and New Jersey, 0.7 

million each), though these states accounted for only one-third of wage and salary employment 

nationally. 

Texas (the second largest state in terms of the number of wage and salary workers) had one-fourth as 

many union members as New York (the third largest), despite having 1.9 million more wage and salary 

employees. Similarly, Tennessee and Hawaii had comparable numbers of union members (121,000 and 

123,000, respectively), though Tennessee's wage and salary employment level (2.4 million) was more 

than 4 times that of Hawaii (526,000). 
Technical Note 

The estimates in this release are obtained from the 

Current Population Survey (CPS), which provides the 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 

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. 

The Census Bureau introduces adjustments to the 

population controls for the CPS as part of its annual update of 

population estimates. The effect of the revised population 

controls on the union affiliation data is unknown. However, 

the effect of the new controls on the monthly CPS estimates 

was to decrease the December 2008 employment level by 

407,000. The updated controls had little or no effect on 

unemployment rates and other ratios. Estimated levels, such 

as the number of union members for 2009, are not strictly 

comparable with estimated levels for 2008. These 

adjustments to the levels, however, should have had only 

negligible effects on union membership rates. Additional 

information is available on the BLS Web site 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 upon 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 long-time 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. 

For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the 

CPS and information on estimating standard errors, see the 

Household Data section of the "Explanatory Notes and 

Estimates of Error" available on the BLS Web site at 

http://www.bls.gov/cps/eetech_methods.pdf. 

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. 

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

[Numbers in thousands]

Characteristic

2008 2009

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129,377 16,098 12.4 17,761 13.7 124,490 15,327 12.3 16,904 13.6

16 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,705 930 5.0 1,062 5.7 17,173 813 4.7 941 5.5

25 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110,672 15,168 13.7 16,699 15.1 107,317 14,514 13.5 15,962 14.9

25 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,276 3,120 10.7 3,443 11.8 28,067 2,942 10.5 3,262 11.6

35 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,708 3,993 13.4 4,365 14.7 28,066 3,669 13.1 4,035 14.4

45 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,787 4,767 16.0 5,228 17.6 29,054 4,551 15.7 4,994 17.2

55 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,430 2,887 16.6 3,209 18.4 17,599 2,926 16.6 3,186 18.1

65 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,471 401 9.0 454 10.2 4,530 425 9.4 485 10.7

Men, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66,846 8,938 13.4 9,724 14.5 63,539 8,441 13.3 9,176 14.4

16 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,537 555 5.8 617 6.5 8,555 493 5.8 560 6.5

25 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57,309 8,383 14.6 9,107 15.9 54,984 7,947 14.5 8,616 15.7

25 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,780 1,750 11.1 1,909 12.1 14,952 1,633 10.9 1,786 11.9

35 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,653 2,307 14.7 2,491 15.9 14,679 2,077 14.1 2,250 15.3

45 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,988 2,608 17.4 2,812 18.8 14,421 2,492 17.3 2,693 18.7

55 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,657 1,525 17.6 1,682 19.4 8,647 1,536 17.8 1,654 19.1

65 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,230 193 8.7 213 9.6 2,285 211 9.2 233 10.2

Women, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62,532 7,160 11.4 8,036 12.9 60,951 6,887 11.3 7,727 12.7

16 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,168 374 4.1 445 4.8 8,619 320 3.7 381 4.4

25 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53,364 6,785 12.7 7,592 14.2 52,333 6,567 12.5 7,346 14.0

25 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,496 1,370 10.1 1,534 11.4 13,116 1,309 10.0 1,476 11.3

35 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,055 1,685 12.0 1,874 13.3 13,387 1,593 11.9 1,785 13.3

45 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,799 2,159 14.6 2,416 16.3 14,633 2,060 14.1 2,302 15.7

55 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,773 1,363 15.5 1,527 17.4 8,952 1,390 15.5 1,532 17.1

65 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,241 208 9.3 241 10.7 2,245 215 9.6 252 11.2

RACE, HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY,

AND SEX

White, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105,052 12,863 12.2 14,222 13.5 101,581 12,330 12.1 13,595 13.4

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55,197 7,309 13.2 7,961 14.4 52,691 6,918 13.1 7,512 14.3

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49,855 5,555 11.1 6,261 12.6 48,889 5,412 11.1 6,083 12.4

Black or African American, 16 years and over. . . . . . . 15,030 2,178 14.5 2,370 15.8 14,127 1,966 13.9 2,172 15.4

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,809 1,081 15.9 1,159 17.0 6,257 964 15.4 1,046 16.7

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,221 1,097 13.3 1,211 14.7 7,870 1,002 12.7 1,126 14.3

Asian, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,157 653 10.6 714 11.6 5,847 664 11.4 730 12.5

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,216 310 9.6 339 10.6 3,075 332 10.8 370 12.0

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,941 344 11.7 374 12.7 2,772 333 12.0 361 13.0

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 16 years and over. . . . . 18,572 1,960 10.6 2,168 11.7 18,034 1,841 10.2 2,036 11.3

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,998 1,204 11.0 1,317 12.0 10,518 1,108 10.5 1,199 11.4

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,574 756 10.0 852 11.2 7,515 733 9.7 836 11.1

FULL- OR PART-TIME STATUS3

Full-time workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106,648 14,561 13.7 16,029 15.0 99,820 13,602 13.6 14,960 15.0

Part-time workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,497 1,505 6.7 1,697 7.5 24,431 1,698 7.0 1,913 7.8

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

Characteristic

2008 2009

Total

Members

of

unions1

Represented

by unions2

Nonunion3 Total

Members

of

unions1

Represented

by unions2

Nonunion3

AGE AND SEX

Total, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $722 $ 886 $ 880 $691 $739 $ 908 $ 901 $710

16 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443 560 549 434 442 598 586 433

25 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 761 903 898 736 774 922 916 749

25 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 666 801 793 645 678 834 827 653

35 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 804 933 926 775 817 941 936 789

45 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 822 944 941 785 838 959 952 807

55 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 825 927 922 790 841 958 957 800

65 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 644 771 773 627 684 837 831 662

Men, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 798 939 937 766 819 957 953 786

16 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461 571 565 451 458 614 605 447

25 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 857 957 956 828 873 972 969 846

25 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704 845 839 682 715 868 862 692

35 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 915 994 991 896 916 995 992 899

45 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 944 1,003 1,005 922 967 1,012 1,009 952

55 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 943 967 965 935 965 988 990 956

65 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753 864 886 736 791 871 883 771

Women, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 638 809 800 615 657 840 833 628

16 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420 546 530 416 424 568 548 420

25 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 670 825 818 645 687 851 845 659

25 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 623 748 740 609 634 800 791 614

35 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 682 842 838 657 709 859 857 683

45 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 707 853 847 674 712 870 860 680

55 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 711 875 866 675 727 909 905 688

65 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563 693 672 542 602 727 728 585

RACE, HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY,

AND SEX

White, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 742 914 907 712 757 934 926 728

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 825 967 965 789 845 981 976 811

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 654 837 828 627 669 859 852 639

Black or African American, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 589 720 712 564 601 749 745 581

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 620 756 751 598 621 780 781 599

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554 674 668 523 582 717 710 560

Asian, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 861 902 908 852 880 907 919 870

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 966 927 939 973 952 888 906 959

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753 880 880 737 779 936 938 756

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529 733 724 512 541 774 763 516

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559 778 765 526 569 824 813 535

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501 654 656 487 509 683 674 493

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

[Numbers in thousands]

Occupation and industry

2008 2009

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45,538 6,110 13.4 6,948 15.3 44,845 6,027 13.4 6,821 15.2

Management, business, and financial operations

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,326 866 5.0 1,039 6.0 16,978 822 4.8 997 5.9

Management occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,843 564 4.8 679 5.7 11,548 473 4.1 585 5.1

Business and financial operations

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,483 302 5.5 360 6.6 5,430 348 6.4 412 7.6

Professional and related occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,212 5,244 18.6 5,909 20.9 27,867 5,206 18.7 5,824 20.9

Computer and mathematical occupations. . . . . . . 3,488 170 4.9 210 6.0 3,306 175 5.3 207 6.3

Architecture and engineering occupations. . . . . . 2,746 203 7.4 233 8.5 2,512 194 7.7 228 9.1

Life, physical, and social science occupations.. . 1,209 106 8.8 132 10.9 1,220 122 10.0 141 11.6

Community and social services occupations. . . . 2,222 363 16.3 406 18.3 2,269 366 16.1 396 17.5

Legal occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,318 74 5.6 87 6.6 1,335 79 5.9 97 7.3

Education, training, and library occupations. . . . 8,424 3,259 38.7 3,630 43.1 8,318 3,172 38.1 3,503 42.1

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,994 141 7.1 167 8.4 1,840 136 7.4 157 8.5

Healthcare practitioner and technical

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,813 928 13.6 1,045 15.3 7,067 962 13.6 1,096 15.5

Service occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,114 2,624 11.9 2,831 12.8 22,364 2,588 11.6 2,830 12.7

Healthcare support occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,028 296 9.8 317 10.5 3,159 317 10.0 353 11.2

Protective service occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,023 1,069 35.4 1,122 37.1 3,120 1,111 35.6 1,180 37.8

Food preparation and serving related

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,694 401 5.2 444 5.8 7,621 334 4.4 389 5.1

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,648 534 11.5 592 12.7 4,592 521 11.3 570 12.4

Personal care and service occupations. . . . . . . . . . . 3,721 324 8.7 357 9.6 3,873 306 7.9 338 8.7

Sales and office occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32,479 2,395 7.4 2,710 8.3 30,998 2,231 7.2 2,499 8.1

Sales and related occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,708 447 3.3 531 3.9 13,331 411 3.1 480 3.6

Office and administrative support occupations. . . . 18,770 1,949 10.4 2,179 11.6 17,667 1,820 10.3 2,019 11.4

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,444 2,208 17.7 2,303 18.5 11,231 1,989 17.7 2,088 18.6

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations. . . . . . . . 901 39 4.3 46 5.1 880 24 2.8 26 2.9

Construction and extraction occupations. . . . . . . . . . 6,876 1,391 20.2 1,445 21.0 5,820 1,220 21.0 1,269 21.8

Installation, maintenance, and repair

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,668 778 16.7 812 17.4 4,531 744 16.4 793 17.5

Production, transportation, and material moving

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,802 2,760 16.4 2,968 17.7 15,052 2,492 16.6 2,666 17.7

Production occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,601 1,269 14.8 1,370 15.9 7,309 1,082 14.8 1,164 15.9

Transportation and material moving occupations. . 8,202 1,491 18.2 1,599 19.5 7,742 1,410 18.2 1,502 19.4

INDUSTRY

Private sector. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108,073 8,265 7.6 9,084 8.4 103,357 7,431 7.2 8,226 8.0

Agriculture and related industries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,057 30 2.8 35 3.4 1,045 12 1.1 14 1.4

Nonagricultural industries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107,016 8,236 7.7 9,049 8.5 102,312 7,419 7.3 8,212 8.0

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction. . . 776 54 6.9 61 7.9 662 57 8.6 63 9.5

Construction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,652 1,195 15.6 1,241 16.2 6,613 958 14.5 993 15.0

Manufacturing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,131 1,723 11.4 1,862 12.3 13,454 1,470 10.9 1,595 11.9

Durable goods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,728 1,139 11.7 1,223 12.6 8,438 907 10.8 985 11.7

Nondurable goods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,403 584 10.8 639 11.8 5,016 562 11.2 610 12.2

Wholesale and retail trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,622 976 5.2 1,096 5.9 17,851 937 5.3 1,032 5.8

Wholesale trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,635 194 5.3 214 5.9 3,386 167 4.9 185 5.5

Retail trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,987 782 5.2 881 5.9 14,465 770 5.3 847 5.9

Transportation and utilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,544 1,231 22.2 1,298 23.4 5,162 1,144 22.2 1,210 23.4

Transportation and warehousing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,639 988 21.3 1,041 22.4 4,256 908 21.3 960 22.6

Utilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 906 243 26.9 257 28.3 906 237 26.1 249 27.5

Information3

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,056 388 12.7 420 13.7 2,790 280 10.0 312 11.2

Publishing, except Internet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 717 52 7.2 62 8.7 633 34 5.3 41 6.5

Motion pictures and sound recording

industries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337 38 11.4 39 11.7 331 42 12.8 43 13.0

Broadcasting, except Internet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561 53 9.5 59 10.6 534 25 4.7 30 5.5

Telecommunications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,184 228 19.3 242 20.4 1,088 174 16.0 192 17.7

Financial activities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,654 157 1.8 199 2.3 8,236 150 1.8 193 2.3

Finance and insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,536 86 1.3 115 1.8 6,199 88 1.4 120 1.9

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 3. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by occupation and industry — Continued

[Numbers in thousands]

Occupation and industry

2008 2009

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

Finance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,312 45 1.0 62 1.4 4,043 56 1.4 73 1.8

Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,224 41 1.9 53 2.4 2,155 32 1.5 48 2.2

Real estate and rental and leasing. . . . . . . . . . . 2,118 71 3.3 84 4.0 2,037 61 3.0 73 3.6

Professional and business services. . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,967 253 2.1 324 2.7 11,325 256 2.3 314 2.8

Professional and technical services. . . . . . . . . . 7,234 93 1.3 128 1.8 6,915 78 1.1 107 1.5

Management, administrative, and waste

services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,733 159 3.4 196 4.1 4,410 178 4.0 207 4.7

Education and health services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,841 1,723 9.1 1,940 10.3 19,269 1,655 8.6 1,912 9.9

Educational services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,657 504 13.8 584 16.0 3,816 494 12.9 580 15.2

Health care and social assistance. . . . . . . . . . . . 15,184 1,219 8.0 1,356 8.9 15,454 1,161 7.5 1,332 8.6

Leisure and hospitality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,187 361 3.2 408 3.6 11,352 349 3.1 407 3.6

Arts, entertainment, and recreation. . . . . . . . . . . 2,044 131 6.4 150 7.3 2,143 138 6.4 152 7.1

Accommodation and food services. . . . . . . . . . . 9,144 231 2.5 258 2.8 9,209 211 2.3 255 2.8

Accommodation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,447 115 7.9 120 8.3 1,390 108 7.8 115 8.3

Food services and drinking places. . . . . . . . . 7,696 116 1.5 138 1.8 7,819 103 1.3 140 1.8

Other services3

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,585 175 3.1 200 3.6 5,598 164 2.9 182 3.2

Other services, except private households. . . 4,785 164 3.4 185 3.9 4,775 147 3.1 163 3.4

Public sector. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21,305 7,832 36.8 8,676 40.7 21,133 7,896 37.4 8,677 41.1

Federal government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,542 994 28.1 1,167 33.0 3,594 1,005 28.0 1,192 33.2

State government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,176 1,955 31.6 2,167 35.1 6,294 2,025 32.2 2,222 35.3

Local government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,586 4,884 42.2 5,342 46.1 11,244 4,867 43.3 5,263 46.8

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: Effective with January 2009 data, industries reflect the introduction of the 2007 Census industry classification system into the Current Population Survey. This industry

classification system is derived from the 2007 North American Industry Classification System. No historical data have been revised. Data refer to the sole or principal job of fulland 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

Occupation and industry

2008 2009

Total

Members

of

unions1

Represented

by unions2

Nonunion3 Total

Members

of

unions1

Represented

by unions2

Nonunion3

OCCUPATION

Management, professional, and related occupations. . . . . . . . . . $1,025 $1,028 $1,017 $1,028 $1,044 $1,047 $1,040 $1,045

Management, business, and financial operations

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,128 1,113 1,120 1,129 1,138 1,116 1,123 1,139

Management occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,204 1,235 1,236 1,199 1,208 1,192 1,208 1,208

Business and financial operations occupations. . . . . . . . . . . 974 925 943 978 996 1,002 1,009 995

Professional and related occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 980 1,018 1,004 973 994 1,036 1,026 983

Computer and mathematical occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,242 1,149 1,139 1,248 1,253 1,078 1,107 1,263

Architecture and engineering occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,244 1,223 1,243 1,244 1,266 1,230 1,210 1,271

Life, physical, and social science occupations. . . . . . . . . . . 1,035 1,169 1,144 1,018 1,059 1,099 1,135 1,040

Community and social services occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . 788 983 978 743 783 957 948 746

Legal occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,174 1,186 1,265 1,169 1,200 1,266 1,258 1,191

Education, training, and library occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 866 974 957 765 887 1,010 996 782

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 882 1,110 1,098 858 888 1,105 1,059 877

Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations. . . . . . . . 962 1,070 1,061 943 970 1,089 1,070 952

Service occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475 691 679 440 470 702 682 435

Healthcare support occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465 526 526 457 472 518 518 464

Protective service occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 748 990 983 620 747 992 980 611

Food preparation and serving related occupations. . . . . . . . . 402 502 496 398 398 463 456 395

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431 596 593 412 444 597 588 418

Personal care and service occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475 580 570 463 440 576 567 429

Sales and office occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 614 741 736 603 624 768 761 613

Sales and related occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 656 679 683 655 665 678 673 665

Office and administrative support occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601 749 744 585 612 782 773 595

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702 990 984 647 719 1,009 1,003 657

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420 – – 418 416 – – 411

Construction and extraction occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 688 992 989 621 718 1,023 1,011 643

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations. . . . . . . . . . 774 1,002 994 729 781 999 999 733

Production, transportation, and material moving

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594 777 770 560 605 786 780 578

Production occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595 765 759 567 610 783 778 587

Transportation and material moving occupations. . . . . . . . . . . 593 789 779 550 599 789 782 563

INDUSTRY

Private sector. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 694 838 829 680 711 856 845 697

Agriculture and related industries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444 – – 446 462 – – 457

Nonagricultural industries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 698 840 831 683 715 857 846 701

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,007 1,024 1,032 1,003 1,050 1,013 1,015 1,058

Construction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 712 1,014 1,012 668 744 1,072 1,052 698

Manufacturing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 741 796 795 733 767 800 799 762

Durable goods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 772 829 827 763 806 836 832 801

Nondurable goods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 685 729 729 675 706 735 741 698

Wholesale and retail trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 603 643 638 601 611 648 641 609

Wholesale trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 741 775 763 739 760 761 767 760

Retail trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 564 598 596 561 577 612 607 575

Transportation and utilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 787 958 950 747 798 975 964 748

Transportation and warehousing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 744 897 895 710 749 923 911 707

Utilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,061 1,161 1,142 1,010 1,043 1,120 1,104 1,008

Information4

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 898 1,011 1,001 871 905 1,105 1,083 883

Publishing, except Internet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 856 – 979 846 847 – – 843

Motion pictures and sound recording industries. . . . . . . . 883 – – 800 1,047 – – 924

Broadcasting, except Internet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 806 – 944 794 827 – – 828

Telecommunications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 969 1,006 1,000 953 964 1,095 1,079 924

Financial activities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 814 782 782 816 839 843 831 839

Finance and insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 857 762 774 859 881 845 837 882

Finance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 864 – 829 865 889 842 817 892

Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 846 – – 849 868 – – 868

Real estate and rental and leasing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703 789 783 696 726 842 822 718

Professional and business services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 835 814 817 836 864 761 748 868

Professional and technical services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,065 1,129 1,140 1,064 1,094 1,081 1,096 1,094

Management, administrative, and waste services. . . . . . 544 682 695 538 560 658 640 553

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

industry — Continued

Occupation and industry

2008 2009

Total

Members

of

unions1

Represented

by unions2

Nonunion3 Total

Members

of

unions1

Represented

by unions2

Nonunion3

Education and health services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $685 $795 $798 $671 $ 715 $839 $838 $ 698

Educational services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 773 892 868 762 819 886 879 795

Health care and social assistance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 661 756 768 652 685 801 802 673

Leisure and hospitality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470 584 575 462 464 583 576 458

Arts, entertainment, and recreation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590 651 638 586 601 673 671 593

Accommodation and food services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435 563 552 427 423 526 505 421

Accommodation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508 605 602 494 505 582 582 496

Food services and drinking places. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417 497 491 416 412 424 423 412

Other services4

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 610 878 810 606 605 886 862 599

Other services, except private households. . . . . . . . . . . . . 629 893 849 622 627 893 868 620

Public sector. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 842 923 918 766 865 947 943 782

Federal government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 972 949 959 989 1,002 981 989 1,019

State government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 812 900 889 753 829 906 899 767

Local government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 814 925 917 719 834 956 948 720

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: Effective with January 2009 data, industries reflect the introduction of the 2007 Census industry classification system into the Current Population Survey. This industry

classification system is derived from the 2007 North American Industry Classification System. No historical data have been revised. 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

[Numbers in thousands]

State

2008 2009

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,858 181 9.8 199 10.7 1,763 191 10.9 212 12.0

Alaska. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289 68 23.5 71 24.7 293 65 22.3 69 23.6

Arizona. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,579 227 8.8 254 9.8 2,471 162 6.5 194 7.9

Arkansas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,158 68 5.9 85 7.3 1,103 47 4.2 55 5.0

California. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,889 2,740 18.4 2,909 19.5 14,297 2,453 17.2 2,622 18.3

Colorado. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,254 181 8.0 208 9.2 2,175 153 7.0 181 8.3

Connecticut. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,625 275 16.9 291 17.9 1,538 265 17.3 282 18.4

Delaware. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391 52 13.4 57 14.7 367 44 11.9 47 12.8

District of Columbia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288 35 12.2 41 14.3 276 29 10.4 35 12.5

Florida. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,573 482 6.4 601 7.9 7,097 411 5.8 489 6.9

Georgia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,084 151 3.7 189 4.6 3,869 177 4.6 226 5.9

Hawaii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562 136 24.3 143 25.5 526 123 23.5 128 24.3

Idaho. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 602 42 7.1 48 8.0 577 36 6.3 46 7.9

Illinois. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,662 939 16.6 993 17.5 5,435 951 17.5 997 18.3

Indiana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,811 349 12.4 386 13.7 2,612 277 10.6 319 12.2

Iowa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,437 153 10.6 187 13.0 1,398 156 11.1 185 13.3

Kansas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,273 89 7.0 111 8.7 1,249 77 6.2 104 8.4

Kentucky. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,703 146 8.6 163 9.6 1,657 142 8.6 173 10.5

Louisiana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,724 80 4.6 97 5.6 1,704 99 5.8 110 6.5

Maine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 574 71 12.3 84 14.7 543 63 11.7 74 13.7

Maryland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,610 329 12.6 380 14.5 2,555 323 12.6 366 14.3

Massachusetts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,909 458 15.7 491 16.9 2,864 476 16.6 516 18.0

Michigan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,089 771 18.8 801 19.6 3,785 710 18.8 752 19.9

Minnesota. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,430 392 16.1 412 17.0 2,400 362 15.1 377 15.7

Mississippi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,089 57 5.3 79 7.3 1,029 49 4.8 66 6.4

Missouri. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,543 285 11.2 327 12.8 2,481 234 9.4 264 10.6

Montana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389 47 12.2 61 15.7 374 52 13.9 68 18.1

Nebraska. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 840 70 8.3 90 10.7 823 76 9.2 94 11.4

Nevada. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,192 199 16.7 217 18.2 1,097 173 15.7 188 17.2

New Hampshire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 635 67 10.6 79 12.4 616 67 10.8 76 12.3

New Jersey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,843 703 18.3 731 19.0 3,734 721 19.3 742 19.9

New Mexico. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 807 58 7.2 94 11.6 759 51 6.7 77 10.2

New York. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,165 2,029 24.9 2,170 26.6 8,021 2,019 25.2 2,182 27.2

North Carolina. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,799 132 3.5 189 5.0 3,707 115 3.1 162 4.4

North Dakota. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308 19 6.1 25 8.2 301 21 6.8 30 9.8

Ohio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,046 716 14.2 783 15.5 4,827 685 14.2 742 15.4

Oklahoma. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,529 102 6.6 127 8.3 1,456 83 5.7 107 7.3

Oregon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,566 259 16.6 272 17.4 1,471 250 17.0 272 18.5

Pennsylvania. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,504 847 15.4 899 16.3 5,220 782 15.0 844 16.2

Rhode Island. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471 78 16.5 82 17.4 444 80 17.9 83 18.7

South Carolina. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,792 70 3.9 105 5.8 1,672 75 4.5 91 5.4

South Dakota. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369 18 5.0 24 6.4 357 20 5.5 24 6.6

Tennessee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,534 139 5.5 166 6.6 2,387 121 5.1 156 6.6

Texas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,991 449 4.5 559 5.6 9,920 508 5.1 615 6.2

Utah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,178 68 5.8 84 7.1 1,136 79 6.9 90 8.0

Vermont. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284 29 10.4 36 12.8 285 35 12.3 40 14.1

Virginia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,597 146 4.1 178 5.0 3,503 166 4.7 191 5.4

Washington. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,912 578 19.8 626 21.5 2,847 574 20.2 612 21.5

West Virginia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 736 101 13.8 112 15.3 699 97 13.9 108 15.4

Wisconsin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,642 396 15.0 422 16.0 2,528 385 15.2 400 15.8

Wyoming. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241 19 7.7 21 8.9 239 18 7.7 20 8.3

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.
(U S rate = 12 3 percent)

Chart 1. Union membership rates by state, 2009 annual averages

WASH.

West

North Central Mountain

East New England

WASH.

(U.S. rate 12.3 percent)

ORE.

IDAHO

MONT.

WYO.

N.D.

S.D.

MINN.

IOWA

WIS.

MICH.

N.Y.

VT.

N.H.

MAINE#

MASS.

#

CONN.

#

R.I.

North Central

Middle

Atlantic

ORE.

IDAHO

MONT.

WYO.

N.D.

S.D.

MINN.

IOWA

WIS.

MICH.

N.Y.

VT.

N.H.

MAINE#

MASS.

#

CONN.

NEV.

CALIF. UTAH

COLO.

NEB.

KAN.

ARIZ.

MO.

ILL.

IOWA

IND. OHIO

KY.

PA.

W.VA.

VA.

# N.J.

# DEL.

#

MD.

D C

NEV.

CALIF. UTAH

COLO.

NEB.

KAN.

ARIZ.

MO.

ILL.

IOWA

IND. OHIO

KY.

PA.

W.VA.

VA.

# N.J.

# DEL.

#

MD.

ARIZ.

N.M.

TEXAS

OKLA.

ARK.

LA.

MISS.

TENN.

N.C.

S.C.

GA.

ALA.

D.C.

South

Atlantic

Pacific

ARIZ.

N.M.

TEXAS

OKLA.

ARK.

LA.

MISS.

TENN.

N.C.

S.C.

GA.

ALA.

FLA.

East

South Central

West

South Central

20.0% or more15.0% - 19.9%10.0% - 14.9%5.0% - 9.9%4.9% or less

HAWAII

ALASKA