For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Wednesday, January 23, 2013 USDL-13-0105 

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

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

UNION MEMBERS — 2012 

In 2012, the union membership rate—the percent of wage and salary workers who were members of a 

union—was 11.3 percent, down from 11.8 percent in 2011, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 

today. The number of wage and salary workers belonging to unions, at 14.4 million, also declined over 

the year. 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), a 

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

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

information, see the Technical Note. 

Highlights from the 2012 data: 

 Public-sector workers had a union membership rate (35.9 percent) more than five times higher 

than that of private-sector workers (6.6 percent). (See table 3.) 

 Workers in education, training, and library occupations and in protective service occupations 

had the highest unionization rates, at 35.4 and 34.8 percent, respectively. (See table 3.) 

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

workers. (See table 1.) 

 Among states, New York continued to have the highest union membership rate (23.2 percent), 

and North Carolina again had the lowest rate (2.9 percent). (See table 5.) 

Industry and Occupation of Union Members 

In 2012, 7.3 million employees in the public sector belonged to a union, compared with 7.0 million 

union workers in the private sector. The union membership rate for public-sector workers (35.9 

percent) was substantially higher than the rate for private-sector workers (6.6 percent). Within the public 

sector, local government workers had the highest union membership rate, 41.7 percent. This group 

includes workers in heavily unionized occupations, such as teachers, police officers, and firefighters. 

Private-sector industries with high unionization rates included transportation and utilities (20.6 percent) 

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

(1.4 percent) and in financial activities (1.9 percent). (See table 3.) 
- 2 - 

Among occupational groups, education, training, and library occupations (35.4 percent) and protective 

service occupations (34.8 percent) had the highest unionization rates in 2012. Sales and related 

occupations (2.9 percent) and farming, fishing, and forestry occupations (3.4 percent) had the lowest 

unionization rates. (See table 3.) 

Selected Characteristics of Union Members 

The union membership rate was higher for men (12.0 percent) than for women (10.5 percent) in 2012. 

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

was 24.7 percent and the rate for women was 14.6 percent. 

In 2012, among major race and ethnicity groups, black workers had a higher union membership rate 

(13.4 percent) than workers who were white (11.1 percent), Asian (9.6 percent), or Hispanic (9.8 

percent). Black men had the highest union membership rate (14.8 percent), while Asian men had the 

lowest rate (8.9 percent). 

By age, the union membership rate was highest among workers ages 55 to 64 (14.9 percent). The lowest 

union membership rate occurred among those ages 16 to 24 (4.2 percent). 

Full-time workers were about twice as likely as part-time workers to be union members, 12.5 percent 

compared with 6.0 percent. 

Union Representation 

In 2012, 15.9 million wage and salary workers were represented by a union. This group includes both 

union members (14.4 million) and workers who report no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered 

by a union contract (1.6 million). (See table 1.) Private-sector employees comprised about half (814,000) 

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

table 3.) 

Earnings 

In 2012, among full-time wage and salary workers, union members had median usual weekly earnings

of $943, while those who were not union members had median weekly earnings of $742. 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, firm size, or geographic region. (See table 2.) 

Union Membership by State 

In 2012, 31 states and the District of Columbia had union membership rates below that of the U.S. 

average, 11.3 percent, while 19 states had higher rates. 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 declined over the 

year in 34 states, rose in 14 states and the District of Columbia, and remained unchanged in 2 states. 

(See table 5 and chart 1.) 
- 3 - 

Eight states had union membership rates below 5.0 percent in 2012. North Carolina had the lowest rate 

(2.9 percent), followed by Arkansas (3.2 percent) and South Carolina (3.3 percent). Three states had 

union membership rates over 20.0 percent in 2012: New York (23.2 percent), Alaska (22.4 percent), and 

Hawaii (21.6 percent). 

About half of the 14.4 million union members in the U.S. lived in just seven states (California, 2.5 

million; New York, 1.8 million; Illinois, 0.8 million; Pennsylvania, 0.7 million; and Michigan, New 

Jersey, and Ohio, 0.6 million each), though these states accounted for only about one-third of wage and 

salary employment nationally. 

State union membership levels depend on both the state wage and salary employment level and the 

union membership rate. Texas, with a union membership rate of 5.7 percent, had about one-third as 

many union members as New York, despite having 2.7 million more wage and salary employees. 

Conversely, North Carolina and Hawaii had comparable numbers of union members (112,000 and 

116,000, respectively), though North Carolina's wage and salary employment level (3.8 million) was 

more than seven times that of Hawaii (537,000). 
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 

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 selfemployed 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 increase the December 2011 employment level by 

216,000. The updated controls had little or no effect on 

unemployment rates and other ratios. Estimated levels, such 

as the number of union members for 2012, are not strictly 

comparable with estimated levels for 2011. 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 

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, 2011-2012 annual

averages

[Numbers in thousands]

Characteristic

2011 2012

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125,187 14,764 11.8 16,290 13.0 127,577 14,366 11.3 15,922 12.5

16 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,910 737 4.4 845 5.0 17,417 731 4.2 869 5.0

25 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108,278 14,027 13.0 15,444 14.3 110,160 13,635 12.4 15,053 13.7

25 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,682 2,829 9.9 3,155 11.0 28,875 2,755 9.5 3,083 10.7

35 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27,231 3,470 12.7 3,804 14.0 27,442 3,424 12.5 3,746 13.6

45 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,693 4,286 14.9 4,707 16.4 28,765 4,032 14.0 4,437 15.4

55 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,751 2,949 15.7 3,219 17.2 19,694 2,932 14.9 3,233 16.4

65 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,920 494 10.0 559 11.4 5,385 491 9.1 554 10.3

Men, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64,686 8,006 12.4 8,731 13.5 65,898 7,895 12.0 8,611 13.1

16 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,636 435 5.0 486 5.6 8,830 448 5.1 521 5.9

25 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56,050 7,571 13.5 8,246 14.7 57,067 7,448 13.1 8,090 14.2

25 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,465 1,541 10.0 1,706 11.0 15,465 1,546 10.0 1,688 10.9

35 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,412 1,946 13.5 2,114 14.7 14,481 1,919 13.3 2,085 14.4

45 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,415 2,327 16.1 2,513 17.4 14,601 2,214 15.2 2,385 16.3

55 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,212 1,497 16.2 1,623 17.6 9,728 1,521 15.6 1,655 17.0

65 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,547 260 10.2 290 11.4 2,792 248 8.9 277 9.9

Women, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60,502 6,758 11.2 7,558 12.5 61,679 6,470 10.5 7,311 11.9

16 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,274 302 3.6 360 4.3 8,586 283 3.3 347 4.0

25 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52,228 6,456 12.4 7,199 13.8 53,093 6,187 11.7 6,964 13.1

25 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,218 1,288 9.7 1,449 11.0 13,410 1,209 9.0 1,396 10.4

35 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,819 1,524 11.9 1,690 13.2 12,961 1,505 11.6 1,661 12.8

45 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,278 1,959 13.7 2,195 15.4 14,164 1,819 12.8 2,052 14.5

55 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,540 1,452 15.2 1,596 16.7 9,966 1,411 14.2 1,579 15.8

65 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,373 233 9.8 269 11.3 2,593 244 9.4 277 10.7

RACE, HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY,

AND SEX

White, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101,768 11,853 11.6 13,061 12.8 101,851 11,306 11.1 12,517 12.3

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53,418 6,568 12.3 7,156 13.4 53,542 6,359 11.9 6,933 12.9

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48,351 5,285 10.9 5,905 12.2 48,309 4,947 10.2 5,584 11.6

Black or African American, 16 years and over. . . . . . . 14,249 1,927 13.5 2,140 15.0 14,975 2,009 13.4 2,220 14.8

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,440 940 14.6 1,020 15.8 6,753 999 14.8 1,078 16.0

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,808 987 12.6 1,119 14.3 8,222 1,009 12.3 1,142 13.9

Asian, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,153 623 10.1 690 11.2 6,953 668 9.6 758 10.9

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,269 296 9.1 331 10.1 3,650 323 8.9 369 10.1

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,884 327 11.4 359 12.4 3,303 345 10.4 388 11.8

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 16 years and over. . . . . 18,733 1,826 9.7 2,015 10.8 20,144 1,982 9.8 2,197 10.9

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,980 1,078 9.8 1,186 10.8 11,415 1,148 10.1 1,266 11.1

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,754 748 9.6 829 10.7 8,730 834 9.6 931 10.7

FULL- OR PART-TIME STATUS3

Full-time workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100,457 13,177 13.1 14,487 14.4 102,749 12,847 12.5 14,173 13.8

Part-time workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,502 1,557 6.4 1,769 7.2 24,614 1,483 6.0 1,710 6.9

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, 2011-2012 annual averages

Characteristic

2011 2012

Total

Members

of

unions1

Represented

by unions2

Nonunion3 Total

Members

of

unions1

Represented

by unions2

Nonunion3

AGE AND SEX

Total, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $756 $ 938 $ 934 $729 $ 768 $ 943 $ 933 $ 742

16 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440 552 550 432 444 545 551 434

25 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 797 954 950 766 815 960 950 786

25 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 693 852 848 671 707 871 863 686

35 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 837 992 983 805 858 983 974 831

45 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 866 988 987 832 878 997 985 850

55 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 881 992 992 845 897 1,005 997 870

65 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 742 849 855 728 757 839 832 748

Men, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 832 982 981 798 854 997 990 821

16 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455 577 575 447 468 572 576 459

25 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 886 1,000 999 857 910 1,015 1,010 887

25 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 717 876 876 699 738 910 903 718

35 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 935 1,030 1,022 912 957 1,035 1,029 941

45 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 979 1,036 1,038 964 994 1,061 1,055 979

55 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 997 1,062 1,066 977 1,005 1,049 1,044 994

65 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 821 897 910 813 860 911 926 849

Women, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 684 879 871 653 691 877 865 663

16 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421 520 518 416 416 510 513 412

25 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 718 895 888 688 727 891 880 701

25 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 662 829 823 637 666 817 809 647

35 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 734 936 925 702 747 915 906 722

45 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 744 925 922 715 746 913 900 719

55 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749 917 916 724 766 938 918 743

65 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 664 820 819 645 667 766 735 653

RACE, HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY,

AND SEX

White, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 775 961 956 747 792 973 960 762

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 856 1,004 1,001 821 879 1,025 1,017 845

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703 903 897 670 710 902 890 681

Black or African American, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 615 771 768 595 621 784 774 599

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 653 802 803 619 665 819 811 624

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595 744 741 577 599 755 747 582

Asian, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 866 961 962 846 920 977 986 907

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 970 964 983 969 1,055 1,010 1,022 1,062

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 751 959 943 727 770 946 951 747

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549 811 804 520 568 840 823 530

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571 859 856 538 592 881 868 563

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518 743 733 501 521 767 750 503

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, 2011-2012 annual

averages

[Numbers in thousands]

Occupation and industry

2011 2012

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45,520 5,896 13.0 6,693 14.7 46,897 5,751 12.3 6,514 13.9

Management, business, and financial operations

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,196 851 4.9 1,039 6.0 18,153 844 4.6 1,009 5.6

Management occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,593 538 4.6 668 5.8 12,259 500 4.1 610 5.0

Business and financial operations

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,603 313 5.6 371 6.6 5,894 344 5.8 399 6.8

Professional and related occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,324 5,045 17.8 5,654 20.0 28,743 4,907 17.1 5,505 19.2

Computer and mathematical occupations. . . . . . . 3,438 136 4.0 167 4.9 3,578 134 3.7 173 4.8

Architecture and engineering occupations. . . . . . 2,615 191 7.3 227 8.7 2,701 206 7.6 240 8.9

Life, physical, and social science occupations.. . 1,174 139 11.8 164 13.9 1,219 132 10.8 150 12.3

Community and social service occupations. . . . . 2,268 374 16.5 418 18.4 2,239 361 16.1 406 18.1

Legal occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,378 69 5.0 93 6.7 1,428 70 4.9 87 6.1

Education, training, and library occupations. . . . 8,343 3,067 36.8 3,381 40.5 8,325 2,944 35.4 3,267 39.2

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,904 132 6.9 146 7.7 1,943 144 7.4 159 8.2

Healthcare practitioner and technical

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,204 938 13.0 1,058 14.7 7,309 916 12.5 1,023 14.0

Service occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,508 2,429 10.8 2,653 11.8 23,095 2,406 10.4 2,630 11.4

Healthcare support occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,178 268 8.4 297 9.3 3,340 277 8.3 321 9.6

Protective service occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,207 1,107 34.5 1,180 36.8 3,078 1,071 34.8 1,122 36.5

Food preparation and serving related

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,677 305 4.0 351 4.6 7,966 298 3.7 358 4.5

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,603 489 10.6 532 11.6 4,729 498 10.5 540 11.4

Personal care and service occupations. . . . . . . . . . . 3,843 260 6.8 294 7.6 3,983 263 6.6 289 7.3

Sales and office occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30,580 2,114 6.9 2,362 7.7 30,685 2,070 6.7 2,357 7.7

Sales and related occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,189 401 3.0 455 3.4 13,366 389 2.9 465 3.5

Office and administrative support occupations. . . . 17,390 1,714 9.9 1,908 11.0 17,319 1,681 9.7 1,892 10.9

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,955 1,838 16.8 1,959 17.9 10,863 1,775 16.3 1,876 17.3

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations. . . . . . . . 940 32 3.4 38 4.0 949 32 3.4 38 4.1

Construction and extraction occupations. . . . . . . . . . 5,575 1,064 19.1 1,120 20.1 5,567 1,054 18.9 1,108 19.9

Installation, maintenance, and repair

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,440 742 16.7 801 18.0 4,347 689 15.8 729 16.8

Production, transportation, and material moving

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,625 2,487 15.9 2,622 16.8 16,038 2,365 14.7 2,546 15.9

Production occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,739 1,104 14.3 1,159 15.0 8,116 1,002 12.3 1,084 13.4

Transportation and material moving occupations. . 7,886 1,383 17.5 1,463 18.6 7,922 1,363 17.2 1,462 18.5

INDUSTRY

Private sector. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104,737 7,202 6.9 7,969 7.6 107,191 7,037 6.6 7,851 7.3

Agriculture and related industries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,183 16 1.4 21 1.8 1,172 16 1.4 21 1.8

Nonagricultural industries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103,554 7,186 6.9 7,948 7.7 106,019 7,021 6.6 7,830 7.4

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction. . . 780 56 7.2 61 7.8 923 66 7.2 72 7.7

Construction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,244 874 14.0 928 14.9 6,205 820 13.2 850 13.7

Manufacturing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,599 1,424 10.5 1,521 11.2 13,941 1,338 9.6 1,468 10.5

Durable goods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,530 871 10.2 924 10.8 8,787 830 9.4 906 10.3

Nondurable goods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,070 553 10.9 596 11.8 5,154 507 9.8 563 10.9

Wholesale and retail trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,002 859 4.8 959 5.3 18,174 854 4.7 960 5.3

Wholesale trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,419 150 4.4 165 4.8 3,341 169 5.1 186 5.6

Retail trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,582 709 4.9 794 5.4 14,833 686 4.6 774 5.2

Transportation and utilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,239 1,108 21.1 1,159 22.1 5,359 1,105 20.6 1,174 21.9

Transportation and warehousing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,355 887 20.4 932 21.4 4,520 898 19.9 948 21.0

Utilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 884 221 25.0 228 25.7 839 207 24.7 226 26.9

Information3

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,756 279 10.1 298 10.8 2,575 251 9.7 273 10.6

Publishing, except Internet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554 25 4.5 26 4.7 548 20 3.7 24 4.3

Motion pictures and sound recording

industries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337 47 13.8 48 14.1 293 33 11.4 36 12.2

Radio and television broadcasting and cable

subscription programming. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576 34 5.9 40 7.0 546 37 6.7 42 7.6

Telecommunications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,064 166 15.6 175 16.4 956 149 15.6 160 16.8

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 3. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by occupation and industry, 2011-2012 annual

averages — Continued

[Numbers in thousands]

Occupation and industry

2011 2012

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

Financial activities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,086 132 1.6 165 2.0 8,196 156 1.9 203 2.5

Finance and insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,111 64 1.1 86 1.4 6,195 73 1.2 102 1.7

Finance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,932 37 1.0 53 1.3 4,054 45 1.1 62 1.5

Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,179 27 1.2 33 1.5 2,141 28 1.3 40 1.9

Real estate and rental and leasing. . . . . . . . . . . 1,976 67 3.4 79 4.0 2,001 83 4.1 101 5.0

Professional and business services. . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,171 250 2.1 322 2.6 12,726 310 2.4 388 3.0

Professional and technical services. . . . . . . . . . 7,244 90 1.2 131 1.8 7,630 93 1.2 140 1.8

Management, administrative, and waste

services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,927 160 3.3 191 3.9 5,096 217 4.3 248 4.9

Education and health services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,855 1,715 8.6 1,982 10.0 20,394 1,658 8.1 1,891 9.3

Educational services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,020 523 13.0 621 15.5 4,190 520 12.4 592 14.1

Health care and social assistance. . . . . . . . . . . . 15,835 1,192 7.5 1,361 8.6 16,204 1,138 7.0 1,299 8.0

Leisure and hospitality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,355 305 2.7 344 3.0 11,775 321 2.7 377 3.2

Arts, entertainment, and recreation. . . . . . . . . . . 2,107 111 5.3 121 5.7 2,127 136 6.4 148 7.0

Accommodation and food services. . . . . . . . . . . 9,247 194 2.1 224 2.4 9,648 185 1.9 229 2.4

Accommodation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,350 96 7.1 105 7.8 1,354 89 6.5 101 7.5

Food services and drinking places. . . . . . . . . 7,898 98 1.2 119 1.5 8,295 97 1.2 128 1.5

Other services3

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,467 184 3.4 209 3.8 5,750 143 2.5 174 3.0

Other services, except private households. . . 4,723 167 3.5 189 4.0 5,028 133 2.6 163 3.2

Public sector. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,450 7,562 37.0 8,321 40.7 20,385 7,328 35.9 8,072 39.6

Federal government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,568 1,004 28.1 1,185 33.2 3,552 956 26.9 1,114 31.4

State government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,261 1,973 31.5 2,189 35.0 6,279 1,968 31.3 2,190 34.9

Local government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,621 4,586 43.2 4,947 46.6 10,554 4,404 41.7 4,768 45.2

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.

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. Effective with January 2011 data,

occupations reflect the introduction of the 2010 Census occupational classification system into the Current Population Survey, or household survey. This classification system

is derived from the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC). No historical data have been revised.
Table 4. Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by union affiliation, occupation, and

industry, 2011-2012 annual averages

Occupation and industry

2011 2012

Total

Members

of

unions1

Represented

by unions2

Nonunion3 Total

Members

of

unions1

Represented

by unions2

Nonunion3

OCCUPATION

Management, professional, and related occupations. . . . . . . . . . $1,082 $1,090 $1,082 $1,082 $1,108 $1,108 $1,092 $1,111

Management, business, and financial operations

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,160 1,169 1,171 1,159 1,171 1,159 1,161 1,172

Management occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,237 1,287 1,300 1,232 1,248 1,261 1,274 1,247

Business and financial operations occupations. . . . . . . . . . . 1,038 999 999 1,042 1,058 1,060 1,024 1,060

Professional and related occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,029 1,074 1,064 1,017 1,053 1,098 1,077 1,046

Computer and mathematical occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,305 1,156 1,169 1,324 1,349 1,157 1,158 1,359

Architecture and engineering occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,315 1,304 1,325 1,314 1,337 1,368 1,350 1,335

Life, physical, and social science occupations. . . . . . . . . . . 1,108 1,229 1,218 1,085 1,134 1,209 1,177 1,127

Community and social service occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 813 993 1,000 771 838 1,007 1,003 783

Legal occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,277 1,222 1,376 1,273 1,328 1,174 1,173 1,342

Education, training, and library occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 919 1,038 1,020 814 915 1,050 1,028 814

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 929 1,179 1,152 910 969 1,107 1,097 957

Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations. . . . . . . . 995 1,132 1,125 975 1,028 1,151 1,142 1,010

Service occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486 742 732 455 485 754 735 458

Healthcare support occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487 519 518 484 482 527 522 477

Protective service occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 757 1,008 1,004 627 791 1,071 1,056 649

Food preparation and serving related occupations. . . . . . . . . 409 504 500 405 410 509 505 405

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465 635 626 431 465 621 614 440

Personal care and service occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453 534 527 444 468 524 515 462

Sales and office occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 638 775 771 624 655 789 776 642

Sales and related occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 670 660 669 670 689 689 668 691

Office and administrative support occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 623 803 791 608 643 808 796 624

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 732 1,016 1,008 676 740 1,026 1,018 688

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430 – – 426 435 – – 430

Construction and extraction occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 717 1,017 1,010 647 740 1,040 1,026 682

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations. . . . . . . . . . 806 1,036 1,021 767 808 1,032 1,021 768

Production, transportation, and material moving

occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 609 798 794 582 624 823 811 597

Production occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605 781 778 583 627 816 807 605

Transportation and material moving occupations. . . . . . . . . . . 614 813 808 580 621 833 816 586

INDUSTRY

Private sector. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 729 878 875 716 742 887 877 731

Agriculture and related industries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483 – – 481 470 – – 469

Nonagricultural industries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 732 879 875 721 746 888 878 735

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,064 1,030 1,005 1,069 1,112 1,119 1,112 1,113

Construction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 746 1,059 1,037 698 768 1,086 1,069 722

Manufacturing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 787 836 835 780 797 872 863 786

Durable goods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 818 889 887 809 827 891 884 819

Nondurable goods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 737 771 771 729 737 827 817 722

Wholesale and retail trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613 622 622 612 630 650 637 629

Wholesale trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 759 798 773 758 821 821 801 823

Retail trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578 591 592 577 592 609 598 592

Transportation and utilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 805 987 985 762 828 998 989 789

Transportation and warehousing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 763 941 939 726 778 948 934 746

Utilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,081 1,132 1,132 1,027 1,132 1,216 1,204 1,086

Information4

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 940 1,122 1,117 916 978 1,103 1,087 966

Publishing, except Internet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 910 – – 902 934 – – 921

Motion pictures and sound recording industries. . . . . . . . 965 – – 926 854 – – 798

Radio and television broadcasting and cable

subscription programming. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 834 – – 834 890 – – 903

Telecommunications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 987 1,113 1,109 950 1,064 1,162 1,163 1,039

Financial activities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 866 824 822 866 889 795 779 893

Finance and insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 907 819 826 908 941 852 831 944

Finance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 910 – 820 911 952 – 762 955

Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 899 – – 900 922 – – 924

Real estate and rental and leasing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 736 836 815 734 731 773 759 727

Professional and business services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 880 872 883 880 910 826 843 912

Professional and technical services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,149 1,193 1,211 1,149 1,165 1,183 1,133 1,165

Management, administrative, and waste services. . . . . . 569 706 693 562 582 699 708 577

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

industry, 2011-2012 annual averages — Continued

Occupation and industry

2011 2012

Total

Members

of

unions1

Represented

by unions2

Nonunion3 Total

Members

of

unions1

Represented

by unions2

Nonunion3

Education and health services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 736 $ 870 $ 878 $ 722 $ 748 $ 879 $ 876 $ 736

Educational services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 858 938 942 833 864 918 922 844

Health care and social assistance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 706 801 809 697 720 835 824 711

Leisure and hospitality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479 607 605 473 481 611 604 475

Arts, entertainment, and recreation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 612 632 625 611 641 675 668 640

Accommodation and food services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447 594 594 441 445 596 588 438

Accommodation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515 598 596 508 542 613 609 527

Food services and drinking places. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427 585 592 424 421 536 534 419

Other services4

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 626 917 901 619 622 807 763 618

Other services, except private households. . . . . . . . . . . . . 654 960 919 643 649 828 774 645

Public sector. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 895 981 977 810 898 990 980 829

Federal government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,063 1,038 1,043 1,092 1,072 1,035 1,045 1,113

State government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 852 956 946 785 854 948 933 794

Local government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 861 973 967 743 866 989 975 756

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- 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. Effective with January 2011 data,

occupations reflect the introduction of the 2010 Census occupational classification system into the Current Population Survey, or household survey. This classification system

is derived from the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC). No historical data have been revised.
Table 5. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by state, 2011-2012 annual averages

[Numbers in thousands]

State

2011 2012

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,781 178 10.0 193 10.8 1,807 166 9.2 190 10.5

Alaska. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306 68 22.1 73 23.7 298 67 22.4 71 23.9

Arizona. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,493 149 6.0 183 7.3 2,434 125 5.1 159 6.5

Arkansas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,116 47 4.2 57 5.1 1,157 37 3.2 43 3.7

California. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,931 2,379 17.1 2,532 18.2 14,483 2,489 17.2 2,666 18.4

Colorado. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,186 179 8.2 203 9.3 2,165 169 7.8 190 8.8

Connecticut. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,542 259 16.8 272 17.7 1,541 216 14.0 232 15.1

Delaware. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370 39 10.5 42 11.2 377 39 10.4 44 11.8

District of Columbia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281 23 8.3 28 9.9 309 27 8.6 32 10.3

Florida. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,283 460 6.3 557 7.6 7,602 440 5.8 555 7.3

Georgia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,876 153 3.9 185 4.8 3,914 171 4.4 210 5.4

Hawaii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525 113 21.5 118 22.5 537 116 21.6 124 23.2

Idaho. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594 31 5.1 36 6.1 613 29 4.8 36 5.8

Illinois. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,408 876 16.2 929 17.2 5,486 801 14.6 852 15.5

Indiana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,681 302 11.3 333 12.4 2,702 246 9.1 269 10.0

Iowa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,386 155 11.2 187 13.5 1,390 145 10.4 172 12.4

Kansas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,268 97 7.6 128 10.1 1,248 85 6.8 105 8.4

Kentucky. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,678 150 8.9 173 10.3 1,742 174 10.0 198 11.4

Louisiana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,717 77 4.5 91 5.3 1,733 107 6.2 130 7.5

Maine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554 63 11.3 74 13.4 559 64 11.5 78 13.9

Maryland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,549 316 12.4 348 13.7 2,636 280 10.6 325 12.3

Massachusetts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,882 422 14.6 445 15.4 2,896 417 14.4 470 16.2

Michigan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,838 671 17.5 703 18.3 3,785 629 16.6 648 17.1

Minnesota. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,461 371 15.1 390 15.8 2,465 351 14.2 368 14.9

Mississippi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,081 54 5.0 73 6.8 1,113 48 4.3 64 5.7

Missouri. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,531 275 10.9 316 12.5 2,507 224 8.9 253 10.1

Montana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377 49 13.0 55 14.6 392 54 13.9 65 16.5

Nebraska. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 828 65 7.9 83 10.0 864 52 6.0 70 8.1

Nevada. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,050 154 14.6 175 16.6 1,101 162 14.7 181 16.4

New Hampshire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 617 68 11.1 77 12.5 621 65 10.5 74 12.0

New Jersey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,816 615 16.1 641 16.8 3,796 611 16.1 636 16.8

New Mexico. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726 49 6.8 65 9.0 780 50 6.5 68 8.7

New York. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,920 1,906 24.1 2,068 26.1 7,936 1,841 23.2 1,975 24.9

North Carolina. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,589 105 2.9 149 4.1 3,805 112 2.9 162 4.3

North Dakota. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318 20 6.3 27 8.6 329 20 6.1 27 8.2

Ohio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,813 647 13.4 706 14.7 4,800 604 12.6 665 13.9

Oklahoma. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,458 94 6.4 113 7.7 1,531 115 7.5 140 9.1

Oregon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,574 270 17.1 286 18.1 1,526 240 15.7 250 16.4

Pennsylvania. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,348 779 14.6 846 15.8 5,452 734 13.5 787 14.4

Rhode Island. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453 79 17.4 81 17.9 455 81 17.8 84 18.4

South Carolina. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,726 59 3.4 86 5.0 1,773 58 3.3 82 4.6

South Dakota. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359 18 5.1 23 6.5 351 20 5.6 24 6.7

Tennessee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,504 115 4.6 139 5.6 2,586 124 4.8 152 5.9

Texas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,214 534 5.2 643 6.3 10,590 599 5.7 721 6.8

Utah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,150 67 5.8 82 7.1 1,179 61 5.2 77 6.6

Vermont. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290 35 12.0 39 13.5 288 31 10.7 38 13.1

Virginia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,550 163 4.6 198 5.6 3,592 159 4.4 197 5.5

Washington. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,727 517 19.0 557 20.4 2,776 513 18.5 541 19.5

West Virginia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 672 93 13.8 102 15.2 697 84 12.1 91 13.1

Wisconsin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,538 339 13.3 358 14.1 2,605 293 11.2 312 12.0

Wyoming. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250 18 7.2 21 8.4 252 17 6.7 20 8.1

1 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.

2 Data refer to both union members and workers who report no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.

NOTE: Data refer to the sole or principal job of full- and part-time wage and salary workers. All self-employed workers are excluded, both those with incorporated businesses

as well as those with unincorporated businesses. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
Chart 1. Union membership rates by state, 2012 annu

Chart 1. Union membership rates by state, 2012 

Mountain

West

N

orth Centr

al N Eld

(U.S. rate = 11.3 percent) (U.S. rate = 11.3 percent)

MONT.

ORE.

N.D.

MINN.

IDAHO WIS N.Y.

WASH.

VT. 

o Ce a

East

North Central

New 

Englan

d

Middle

Atlantic

CALIF.

NEV.

S.D.

WYO.

NEB.

UTAH

ILL.

IDAHO

PA.

WIS.

IOWA

IND.

OHIO

MICH.

MD.

N.M. ARIZ.

COLO. KAN. MO.

OKLA.

N.C.

KY.

VA.

ARK.

TENN.

W.VA.

TEXAS

GA.

LA.

FLA

MISS. ALA.

S.C.

Pacific

East FLA.

HAWAII 

East

South Central

West

South Central

HAWAII

ALASKA