Union membership, coverage, density, and employment among all wage and salary workers, 1973–2019
Year | Observation | Employment | Members | Covered | Membership | Coverage |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1973 | 49,095 | 75,519.3 | 18,088.6 | — | 24.0% | — |
1974 | 48,245 | 77,101.1 | 18,176.5 | — | 23.6% | — |
1975 | 46,488 | 75,703.9 | 16,778.3 | — | 22.2% | — |
1976 | 47,648 | 78,776.9 | 17,403.0 | — | 22.1% | — |
1977 | 57,191 | 81,334.1 | 19,335.1 | 21,534.6 | 23.8% | 26.5% |
1978 | 57,322 | 84,967.6 | 19,548.4 | 21,897.5 | 23.0% | 25.8% |
1979 | 58,080 | 87,116.6 | 20,986.1 | 23,540.1 | 24.1% | 27.0% |
1980 | 68,594 | 87,479.5 | 20,095.3 | 22,493.4 | 23.0% | 25.7% |
1981 | 15,433 | 89,518.2 | 19,123.4 | 21,434.4 | 21.4% | 23.9% |
1982 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
1983 | 173,932 | 88,289.5 | 17,717.4 | 20,532.1 | 20.1% | 23.3% |
1984 | 177,248 | 92,194.2 | 17,339.8 | 19,931.5 | 18.8% | 21.6% |
1985 | 180,232 | 94,520.5 | 16,996.1 | 19,358.1 | 18.0% | 20.5% |
1986 | 179,147 | 96,902.6 | 16,975.2 | 19,277.8 | 17.5% | 19.9% |
1987 | 180,434 | 99,302.7 | 16,913.1 | 19,051.0 | 17.0% | 19.2% |
1988 | 173,118 | 101,407.4 | 17,001.7 | 19,241.3 | 16.8% | 19.0% |
1989 | 176,411 | 103,479.6 | 16,960.5 | 19,197.6 | 16.4% | 18.6% |
1990 | 185,030 | 103,904.8 | 16,739.8 | 19,057.8 | 16.1% | 18.3% |
1991 | 179,560 | 102,786.3 | 16,568.4 | 18,733.8 | 16.1% | 18.2% |
1992 | 176,846 | 103,688.3 | 16,390.3 | 18,540.1 | 15.8% | 17.9% |
1993 | 174,595 | 105,067.4 | 16,598.1 | 18,646.4 | 15.8% | 17.7% |
1994 | 170,804 | 107,987.7 | 16,740.3 | 18,842.5 | 15.5% | 17.4% |
1995 | 170,307 | 110,038.1 | 16,359.6 | 18,346.3 | 14.9% | 16.7% |
1996 | 152,188 | 111,959.7 | 16,269.4 | 18,158.1 | 14.5% | 16.2% |
1997 | 154,955 | 114,533.0 | 16,109.9 | 17,923.0 | 14.1% | 15.6% |
1998 | 156,990 | 116,729.9 | 16,211.4 | 17,918.3 | 13.9% | 15.4% |
1999 | 159,378 | 118,963.5 | 16,476.7 | 18,182.3 | 13.9% | 15.3% |
2000 | 161,126 | 120,785.6 | 16,258.2 | 17,944.1 | 13.5% | 14.9% |
2001 | 171,533 | 120,707.6 | 16,288.8 | 17,878.1 | 13.5% | 14.8% |
2002 | 184,137 | 119,979.2 | 15,978.7 | 17,501.6 | 13.3% | 14.6% |
2003 | 180,830 | 122,357.9 | 15,776.0 | 17,448.4 | 12.9% | 14.3% |
2004 | 177,858 | 123,553.9 | 15,471.6 | 17,087.3 | 12.5% | 13.8% |
2005 | 179,148 | 125,889.3 | 15,685.4 | 17,223.4 | 12.5% | 13.7% |
2006 | 178,661 | 128,237.2 | 15,359.1 | 16,860.2 | 12.0% | 13.1% |
2007 | 177,023 | 129,767.0 | 15,670.3 | 17,243.3 | 12.1% | 13.3% |
2008 | 174,897 | 129,377.2 | 16,097.5 | 17,760.6 | 12.4% | 13.7% |
2009 | 169,727 | 124,489.9 | 15,327.3 | 16,903.6 | 12.3% | 13.6% |
2010 | 167,828 | 124,073.0 | 14,715.1 | 16,289.5 | 11.9% | 13.1% |
2011 | 166,259 | 125,210.1 | 14,754.7 | 16,281.0 | 11.8% | 13.0% |
2012 | 166,084 | 127,603.2 | 14,349.4 | 15,905.9 | 11.2% | 12.5% |
2013 | 165,878 | 129,136.6 | 14,515.8 | 16,016.2 | 11.2% | 12.4% |
2014 | 167,074 | 131,452.8 | 14,569.9 | 16,142.4 | 11.1% | 12.3% |
2015 | 165,282 | 133,770.5 | 14,786.3 | 16,432.8 | 11.1% | 12.3% |
2016 | 165,808 | 136,131.9 | 14,549.6 | 16,264.6 | 10.7% | 11.9% |
2017 | 163,781 | 137,912.9 | 14,811.5 | 16,436.1 | 10.7% | 11.9% |
2018 | 159,855 | 140,132.8 | 14,740.2 | 16,374.4 | 10.5% | 11.7% |
2019 | 154,727 | 141,766.4 | 14,566.7 | 16,374.9 | 10.3% | 11.6% |
Notes: There were no union questions in the 1982 CPS. Sample includes wage and salary workers, ages 16 and over. Variable definitions are: Observation is CPS sample size; Employment is wage and salary employment in thousands, Members is employed workers who are union members in thousands, Covered=workers covered by a collective bargaining agreement in thousands, %Membership is percent of employed workers who are union members, and %Coverage is percent of employed workers who are covered by a collective bargaining agreement. The definition of union membership was expanded in 1977 to include "employee associations similar to a union".
For the years 1973-81 the May Current Population (CPS). For the years 1983-2019 the CPS Outgoing Rotation Group (ORG) Earnings Files.
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