Union Participation by Occupation and Industry
Updated August 5, 2020 |
Infoplease Staff
The following table shows the percent of workers that are represented by unions or members of unions, according to occupations that include managerial, executive, industrial, professional, technical, sales, and transportation positions.
| Percent of employed population that are members of unions1 | Percent of employed population that are represented by unions2 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 2006 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 2007 | 2006 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | |
| Occupation | ||||||||||
| Managerial and professional specialty | 13.1% | 12.8% | 13.2% | 12.8% | 13.2% | 14.9% | 14.6% | 15.4% | 15.2% | 15.5% |
| Executive, administrative, and managerial | 4.5 | 4.2 | 5.6 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 5.3 | 7.1 | 6.6 | 6.4 |
| Professional specialty | 18.2 | 17.7 | 19.7 | 19.5 | 20.2 | 20.5 | 20.0 | 22.5 | 22.7 | 23.4 |
| Technical, sales, and administrative support | 10.2 | 9.9 | 9.0 | 9.2 | 9.1 | 11.3 | 10.9 | 10.2 | 10.4 | 10.5 |
| Technicians and related support | n.a. | n.a. | 11.0 | 10.4 | 10.4 | n.a. | n.a. | 12.5 | 12.0 | 12.2 |
| Sales occupations | 3.3 | 3.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 5.0 |
| Administrative support, including clerical | n.a. | n.a. | 12.2 | 12.7 | 12.3 | n.a. | n.a. | 13.8 | 14.3 | 14.1 |
| Service occupations | 11.4 | 11.4 | 12.8 | 13.3 | 13.2 | 12.4 | 12.3 | 13.9 | 14.5 | 14.5 |
| Protective service | 35.2 | 34.7 | 38.2 | 41.3 | 39.9 | 37.2 | 36.6 | 40.8 | 43.7 | 42.9 |
| Service, except protective service | 8.0 | 8.9 | 8.5 | 8.6 | 8.9 | 8.6 | 9.7 | 9.3 | 9.5 | 10.0 |
| Precision production, craft, and repair | n.a. | n.a. | 22.4 | 22.1 | 22.6 | n.a. | n.a. | 23.5 | 23.1 | 23.7 |
| Operators, fabricators, and laborers | n.a. | n.a. | 20.7 | 21.3 | 21.5 | n.a. | n.a. | 21.9 | 22.3 | 22.7 |
| Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors | n.a. | n.a. | 20.5 | 21.4 | 21.9 | n.a. | n.a. | 21.7 | 22.3 | 22.9 |
| Transportation and material moving occupations | 17.7 | 18.5 | 22.8 | 24.4 | 24.3 | 19.0 | 19.7 | 24.1 | 25.7 | 25.9 |
| Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers | n.a. | n.a. | 18.9 | 18.1 | 18.1 | n.a. | n.a. | 20.0 | 19.1 | 19.4 |
| Farming, forestry, and fishing | 2.7 | 3.5 | 5.8 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 6.4 | 5.2 | 5.1 |
| Industry | ||||||||||
| Private wage and salary workers | 7.5 | 7.4 | 9.4 | 9.5 | n.a. | 8.2 | 8.1 | 10.2 | 10.3 | n.a. |
| Agriculture | 1.5 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 1.8 | 2.4 |
| Nonagricultural industries | 7.5 | 7.5 | 9.5 | 9.6 | 9.8 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 10.3 | 10.4 | 10.8 |
| Mining | 9.3 | 7.5 | 10.6 | 12.2 | 13.9 | 10.2 | 8.8 | 11.4 | 13.4 | 14.3 |
| Construction | 13.9 | 13.0 | 19.1 | 17.8 | 18.6 | 14.4 | 13.6 | 19.6 | 18.4 | 19.5 |
| Manufacturing | 11.3 | 11.7 | 15.6 | 15.8 | 16.3 | 12.0 | 12.5 | 16.6 | 16.8 | 17.2 |
| Durable goods | 11.3 | 11.8 | 16.4 | 16.6 | 17.5 | 12.0 | 12.5 | 17.5 | 17.5 | 18.5 |
| Nondurable goods | 11.3 | 11.4 | 14.4 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 12.1 | 12.3 | 15.3 | 15.7 | 15.4 |
| Transportation and public utilities | 22.1 | 23.2 | 25.5 | 25.8 | 26.0 | 23.4 | 24.3 | 26.7 | 27.0 | 27.5 |
| Transportation | 20.9 | 22.2 | 25.5 | 25.7 | 26.5 | 22.3 | 23.4 | 26.7 | 26.8 | 27.9 |
| Communications and public utilities | 28.4 | 28.2 | 25.4 | 26.0 | 25.1 | 29.4 | 29.1 | 26.9 | 27.4 | 26.7 |
| Wholesale and retail trade | 5.2 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 5.3 | 5.6 | 5.7 | 5.3 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 6.2 |
| Wholesale trade | 5.2 | 4.9 | 5.4 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 5.7 | 5.2 | 6.1 | 6.2 | 6.6 |
| Retail trade | 5.2 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 5.7 | 5.3 | 5.6 | 5.6 | 6.1 |
| Finance, insurance, and real estate | 2.0 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.8 |
| Services | 2.93 | 3.13 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 5.4 | 3.33 | 3.53 | 6.5 | 6.6 | 6.5 |
| Government workers | 35.9 | 36.2 | 37.3 | 37.5 | 37.2 | 39.8 | 40.1 | 42.1 | 42.5 | 42.3 |
| Federal | 26.8 | 28.4 | 32.1 | 33.8 | 32.0 | 31.5 | 33.7 | 39.0 | 39.7 | 39.4 |
| State | 30.4 | 30.2 | 29.2 | 27.8 | 29.5 | 34.0 | 33.6 | 34.0 | 32.4 | 33.4 |
| Local | 41.8 | 41.9 | 42.9 | 43.8 | 42.7 | 45.6 | 45.7 | 47.0 | 48.6 | 47.7 |
NOTE: Data refer to the sole or principal job of full- and part-time wage and salary workers. Excluded are all self-employed workers regardless of whether or not their businesses are incorporated. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
1. Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
2. Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union as well as workers who report no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.
3. Includes other industries, not shown separately.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Web: www.bls.gov/news.release/union2.t03.htm .
| Weekly Earnings of Union-Affiliated Workers | Labor Unions | Weekly Earnings of Union-Affiliated Workers by Occupation |
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