As union membership declines, income inequality increases: Union membership and share of income going to the top 10%, 1917–2019
Year | Union membership | Share of income going to the top 10% |
---|---|---|
1917 | 11.0% | 45.2% |
1918 | 12.1% | 44.2% |
1919 | 14.3% | 46.2% |
1920 | 17.5% | 44.4% |
1921 | 17.6% | 47.6% |
1922 | 14.0% | 46.3% |
1923 | 11.7% | 43.9% |
1924 | 11.3% | 45.9% |
1925 | 11.0% | 47.5% |
1926 | 10.7% | 47.8% |
1927 | 10.6% | 47.3% |
1928 | 10.4% | 48.4% |
1929 | 10.1% | 47.2% |
1930 | 10.7% | 46.5% |
1931 | 11.2% | 46.6% |
1932 | 11.3% | 48.6% |
1933 | 9.5% | 48.3% |
1934 | 9.8% | 49.3% |
1935 | 10.8% | 48.3% |
1936 | 11.1% | 48.6% |
1937 | 18.6% | 47.7% |
1938 | 23.9% | 47.3% |
1939 | 24.8% | 48.8% |
1940 | 23.5% | 49.1% |
1941 | 25.4% | 47.2% |
1942 | 24.2% | 42.5% |
1943 | 30.1% | 39.2% |
1944 | 32.5% | 36.3% |
1945 | 33.4% | 35.6% |
1946 | 31.9% | 37.2% |
1947 | 31.1% | 37.1% |
1948 | 30.5% | 39.1% |
1949 | 29.6% | 38.5% |
1950 | 30.0% | 39.2% |
1951 | 32.4% | 38.1% |
1952 | 31.5% | 36.9% |
1953 | 33.2% | 35.9% |
1954 | 32.7% | 36.2% |
1955 | 32.9% | 36.9% |
1956 | 33.2% | 35.9% |
1957 | 32.0% | 35.8% |
1958 | 31.1% | 35.6% |
1959 | 31.6% | 36.1% |
1960 | 30.7% | 35.6% |
1961 | 28.7% | 35.7% |
1962 | 29.1% | 36.1% |
1963 | 28.5% | 36.2% |
1964 | 28.5% | 36.4% |
1965 | 28.6% | 36.0% |
1966 | 28.7% | 35.6% |
1967 | 28.6% | 35.2% |
1968 | 28.7% | 34.9% |
1969 | 28.3% | 34.0% |
1970 | 27.9% | 33.7% |
1971 | 27.4% | 34.0% |
1972 | 27.5% | 34.2% |
1973 | 27.1% | 34.2% |
1974 | 26.5% | 33.9% |
1975 | 25.7% | 34.1% |
1976 | 25.7% | 34.1% |
1977 | 25.2% | 34.2% |
1978 | 24.7% | 34.1% |
1979 | 25.4% | 34.3% |
1980 | 23.6% | 34.0% |
1981 | 22.3% | 34.4% |
1982 | 21.6% | 34.9% |
1983 | 21.4% | 35.5% |
1984 | 20.5% | 36.0% |
1985 | 19.0% | 36.1% |
1986 | 18.5% | 36.0% |
1987 | 17.9% | 37.0% |
1988 | 17.6% | 38.6% |
1989 | 17.2% | 38.2% |
1990 | 16.7% | 38.3% |
1991 | 16.2% | 38.3% |
1992 | 16.2% | 39.4% |
1993 | 16.2% | 39.2% |
1994 | 16.1% | 39.1% |
1995 | 15.3% | 39.8% |
1996 | 14.9% | 40.6% |
1997 | 14.7% | 41.3% |
1998 | 14.2% | 41.7% |
1999 | 13.9% | 42.1% |
2000 | 13.5% | 42.7% |
2001 | 13.5% | 42.0% |
2002 | 13.3% | 41.7% |
2003 | 12.9% | 41.9% |
2004 | 12.5% | 42.5% |
2005 | 12.5% | 43.4% |
2006 | 12.0% | 44.2% |
2007 | 12.1% | 44.2% |
2008 | 12.4% | 44.2% |
2009 | 12.3% | 43.6% |
2010 | 11.9% | 44.6% |
2011 | 11.8% | 45.3% |
2012 | 11.3% | 46.2% |
2013 | 11.3% | 45.6% |
2014 | 11.1% | 46.1% |
2015 | 11.1% | 46.3% |
2016 | 10.7% | 46.2% |
2017 | 10.7% | 45.9% |
2018 | 10.5% | 45.9% |
2019 | 10.3% | 45.8% |
Source: Reproduced from Figure A in Heidi Shierholz, Working People Have Been Thwarted in Their Efforts to Bargain for Better Wages by Attacks on Unions, Economic Policy Institute, August 2019.
Reproduced from Figure A in Heidi Shierholz, Working People Have Been Thwarted in Their Efforts to Bargain for Better Wages by Attacks on Unions, Economic Policy Institute, August 2019. Data on union density follows the composite series found in Historical Statistics of the United States; updated to 2017 from unionstats.com. Income inequality (share of income to top 10%) data are from Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez, “Income Inequality in the United States, 1913–1998,” Quarterly Journal of Economics 118, no. 1 (2003), and updated data from the Top Income Database, updated October 2020.
This chart appears in:
- Testimony before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions for a hearing on the right to organize and on empowering U.S. workers in a 21st century economy
- Preempting progress in the heartland: State lawmakers in the Midwest prevent shared prosperity and racial, gender, and immigrant justice by interfering in local policymaking
- Testimony before the House Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth for a hearing on the impact of corporate power on workers and consumers
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