Figure 9
Decline in union membership mirrors income gains of top 10%: Union membership and share of income going to the top 10%, 1917–2012
Year | Union membership | Share of income going to the top 10 percent |
---|---|---|
1917 | 11.0% | 40.3% |
1918 | 12.1% | 39.9% |
1919 | 14.3% | 39.5% |
1920 | 17.5% | 38.1% |
1921 | 17.6% | 42.9% |
1922 | 14.0% | 43.0% |
1923 | 11.7% | 40.6% |
1924 | 11.3% | 43.3% |
1925 | 11.0% | 44.2% |
1926 | 10.7% | 44.1% |
1927 | 10.6% | 44.7% |
1928 | 10.4% | 46.1% |
1929 | 10.1% | 43.8% |
1930 | 10.7% | 43.1% |
1931 | 11.2% | 44.4% |
1932 | 11.3% | 46.3% |
1933 | 9.5% | 45.0% |
1934 | 9.8% | 45.2% |
1935 | 10.8% | 43.4% |
1936 | 11.1% | 44.8% |
1937 | 18.6% | 43.4% |
1938 | 23.9% | 43.0% |
1939 | 24.8% | 44.6% |
1940 | 23.5% | 44.4% |
1941 | 25.4% | 41.0% |
1942 | 24.2% | 35.5% |
1943 | 30.1% | 32.7% |
1944 | 32.5% | 31.6% |
1945 | 33.4% | 32.6% |
1946 | 31.9% | 34.6% |
1947 | 31.1% | 33.0% |
1948 | 30.5% | 33.7% |
1949 | 29.6% | 33.8% |
1950 | 30.0% | 33.9% |
1951 | 32.4% | 32.8% |
1952 | 31.5% | 32.1% |
1953 | 33.2% | 31.4% |
1954 | 32.7% | 32.1% |
1955 | 32.9% | 31.8% |
1956 | 33.2% | 31.8% |
1957 | 32.0% | 31.7% |
1958 | 31.1% | 32.1% |
1959 | 31.6% | 32.0% |
1960 | 30.7% | 31.7% |
1961 | 28.7% | 31.9% |
1962 | 29.1% | 32.0% |
1963 | 28.5% | 32.0% |
1964 | 28.5% | 31.6% |
1965 | 28.6% | 31.5% |
1966 | 28.7% | 32.0% |
1967 | 28.6% | 32.1% |
1968 | 28.7% | 32.0% |
1969 | 28.3% | 31.8% |
1970 | 27.9% | 31.5% |
1971 | 27.4% | 31.8% |
1972 | 27.5% | 31.6% |
1973 | 27.1% | 31.9% |
1974 | 26.5% | 32.4% |
1975 | 25.7% | 32.6% |
1976 | 25.7% | 32.4% |
1977 | 25.2% | 32.4% |
1978 | 24.7% | 32.4% |
1979 | 25.4% | 32.4% |
1980 | 23.6% | 32.9% |
1981 | 22.3% | 32.7% |
1982 | 21.6% | 33.2% |
1983 | 21.4% | 33.7% |
1984 | 20.5% | 34.0% |
1985 | 19.0% | 34.3% |
1986 | 18.5% | 34.6% |
1987 | 17.9% | 36.5% |
1988 | 17.6% | 38.6% |
1989 | 17.2% | 38.5% |
1990 | 16.7% | 38.8% |
1991 | 16.2% | 38.4% |
1992 | 16.2% | 39.8% |
1993 | 16.2% | 39.5% |
1994 | 16.1% | 39.6% |
1995 | 15.3% | 40.5% |
1996 | 14.9% | 41.2% |
1997 | 14.7% | 41.7% |
1998 | 14.2% | 42.1% |
1999 | 14.2% | 42.7% |
2000 | 13.6% | 43.1% |
2001 | 13.7% | 42.2% |
2002 | 13.5% | 42.4% |
2003 | 13.0% | 42.8% |
2004 | 12.6% | 43.6% |
2005 | 12.5% | 44.9% |
2006 | 12.0% | 45.5% |
2007 | 12.1% | 45.7% |
2008 | 12.5% | 46.0% |
2009 | 12.4% | 45.5% |
2010 | 11.9% | 46.4% |
2011 | 11.8% | 46.6% |
2012 | 11.3% | 48.2% |
Source: Data on union density follow 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 and downloadable data, for this series and other countries, are available at The World's Top Income Database. Updated September 2013.
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