Unions and Inequality
Union membership and share of income going to the top 1%
Year | Union membership | Share of income going to the top 1 percent |
---|---|---|
1947 | 31.1% | 11.0% |
1948 | 30.5% | 11.3% |
1949 | 29.6% | 10.9% |
1950 | 30.0% | 11.4% |
1951 | 32.4% | 10.5% |
1952 | 31.5% | 9.8% |
1953 | 33.2% | 9.1% |
1954 | 32.7% | 9.4% |
1955 | 32.9% | 9.2% |
1956 | 33.2% | 9.1% |
1957 | 32.0% | 9.0% |
1958 | 31.1% | 8.8% |
1959 | 31.6% | 8.7% |
1960 | 30.7% | 8.4% |
1961 | 28.7% | 8.3% |
1962 | 29.1% | 8.3% |
1963 | 28.5% | 8.2% |
1964 | 28.5% | 8.0% |
1965 | 28.6% | 8.1% |
1966 | 28.7% | 8.4% |
1967 | 28.6% | 8.4% |
1968 | 28.7% | 8.4% |
1969 | 28.3% | 8.0% |
1970 | 27.9% | 7.8% |
1971 | 27.4% | 7.8% |
1972 | 27.5% | 7.8% |
1973 | 27.1% | 7.7% |
1974 | 26.5% | 8.1% |
1975 | 25.7% | 8.0% |
1976 | 25.7% | 7.9% |
1977 | 25.2% | 7.9% |
1978 | 24.7% | 8.0% |
1979 | 25.4% | 8.0% |
1980 | 23.6% | 8.2% |
1981 | 22.3% | 8.0% |
1982 | 21.6% | 8.4% |
1983 | 21.4% | 8.6% |
1984 | 20.5% | 8.9% |
1985 | 19.0% | 9.1% |
1986 | 18.5% | 9.1% |
1987 | 17.9% | 10.7% |
1988 | 17.6% | 13.2% |
1989 | 17.2% | 12.6% |
1990 | 16.7% | 13.0% |
1991 | 16.2% | 12.2% |
1992 | 16.2% | 13.5% |
1993 | 16.2% | 12.8% |
1994 | 16.1% | 12.9% |
1995 | 15.3% | 13.5% |
1996 | 14.9% | 14.1% |
1997 | 14.7% | 14.8% |
1998 | 14.2% | 15.3% |
1999 | 13.9% | 15.9% |
2000 | 13.5% | 16.5% |
2001 | 13.5% | 15.4% |
2002 | 13.3% | 15.0% |
2003 | 12.9% | 15.2% |
2004 | 12.5% | 16.3% |
2005 | 12.5% | 17.7% |
2006 | 12.0% | 18.1% |
2007 | 12.1% | 18.3% |
2008 | 12.4% | 17.9% |
2009 | 12.3% | 16.7% |
2010 | 11.9% | 17.5% |
2011 | 11.8% | 17.5% |
2012 | 11.2% | 18.9% |
2013 | 11.2% | 17.5% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau and Piketty and Saez (2013)
Data on union density follows the composite series found in Historical Statistics of the United States; updated to 2012 from unionstats.com. Income inequality (share of income to top 10%) from Piketty and Saez, “Income Inequality in the United States, 1913-1998, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118(1), 2003, 1-39. Updated data for this series and other countries, is available at the Top Income Database. Updated September 2013.
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