Data on the erosion of union membership: Trends in union membership density among private-sector workers, by gender and education, 1979–2013
| 1979 | 1983 | 1993 | 2003 | 2013 | Change 1979–2013 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | |||||||
| All workers | 34% | 25% | 17% | 12% | 10% | 24% | |
| Workers without a college degree | 38% | 29% | 20% | 14% | 11% | 27% | |
| Workers with a high school diploma or less | 39% | 31% | 21% | 14% | 11% | 28% | |
| Women | |||||||
| All workers | 16% | 12% | 8% | 7% | 6% | 10% | |
| Workers without a college degree | 16% | 13% | 9% | 7% | 6% | 10% | |
| Workers with a high school diploma or less | 18% | 14% | 10% | 7% | 6% | 12% | |
Notes: The table shows the proportion of each group that belonged to a union in each year. The sample is restricted to full-time workers in the private sector ages 16 to 64. See the text and Methodological Appendix for details on the analysis.
Source: Authors’ compilations from the Current Population Survey (CPS) May Supplement microdata and CPS Outgoing Rotation Group microdata.