Internet Address: http://www.bls.gov/ro2/ For Release: MARCH 30, 2009 Media Contact: Michael L. Dolfman,(212) 337-2500 Information: Martin Kohli,(646) 264-3620
UNION MEMBERSHIP IN NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY, 2008 In 2008, union members accounted for 24.9 percent of wage and salary workers in New York and 18.3 percent in New Jersey, compared to 25.2 percent and 19.2 percent, respectively, in 2007 according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Regional Commissioner Michael L. Dolfman noted that the union membership rates in both New York and New Jersey have generally edged down since 1995 when they were at 27.7 and 21.9 percent, respectively. (See chart A and tables A-1 and A-2.) However, both states had union membership rates above that for the nation in 2008, as union members accounted for 12.4 percent of employed wage and salary workers in the United States. In 1995, the union membership rate for the nation was 14.9 percent.
New York had 2,029,000 union members in 2008 and New Jersey,
703,000. In addition to these members, another 141,000 wage and
salary workers in New York and 28,000 in New Jersey were
represented by a union on their main job or were covered by an
employee association or contract while not union members
themselves. (See tables A-1 and A-2.) Nationwide, about 16.1
million wage and salary workers were union members in 2008 and
about 1.7 million wage and salary workers were non-members
represented by a union or covered by a contract.
Table A-1. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary
workers in New York, annual averages, 1995-2008
(numbers in thousands)
Members of Represented by
unions1 unions2
----------------- -----------------
Total Percent of Percent of
Year employed Total employed Total employed
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1995 7,129 1,975 27.7 2,086 29.3
1996 7,239 1,942 26.8 2,042 28.2
1997 7,406 1,949 26.3 2,050 27.7
1998 7,482 1,900 25.4 1,995 26.7
1999 7,490 1,897 25.3 1,986 26.5
2000 7,863 1,958 24.9 2,046 26.0
2001 7,786 2,005 25.8 2,098 26.9
2002 7,828 1,981 25.3 2,071 26.5
2003 7,874 1,936 24.6 2,017 25.6
2004 7,901 1,996 25.3 2,085 26.4
2005 8,008 2,090 26.1 2,201 27.5
2006 8,115 1,981 24.4 2,060 25.4
2007 8,150 2,055 25.2 2,146 26.3
2008 8,165 2,029 24.9 2,170 26.6
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1Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee
association similar to a union.
2Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee
association similar to a union, as well as workers who
are not members but whose jobs are covered by a union
or employee association contract.
NOTE: Data refer to the sole or principal job of full-
and part-time 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 the January data.
Table A-2. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary
workers in New Jersey, annual averages, 1995-2008
(numbers in thousands)
Members of Represented by
unions1 unions2
----------------- -----------------
Total Percent of Percent of
Year employed Total employed Total employed
------------------------------------------------------
1995 3,368 739 21.9 802 23.8
1996 3,517 768 21.8 832 23.7
1997 3,652 802 22.0 866 23.7
1998 3,597 793 22.0 851 23.7
1999 3,609 741 20.5 807 22.4
2000 3,766 775 20.6 817 21.7
2001 3,826 740 19.3 798 20.9
2002 3,872 757 19.6 797 20.6
2003 3,777 737 19.5 801 21.2
2004 3,769 745 19.8 813 21.6
2005 3,868 791 20.5 838 21.7
2006 3,827 770 20.1 825 21.6
2007 3,897 748 19.2 802 20.6
2008 3,843 703 18.3 731 19.0
------------------------------------------------------
1Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee
association similar to a union.
2Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee
association similar to a union, as well as workers who
are not members but whose jobs are covered by a union
or employee association contract.
NOTE: Data refer to the sole or principal job of full-
and part-time 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 the January data.
In 2008, 29 states and the District of Columbia had union
membership rates below the U.S. average, while 20 had higher
rates, and 1 state had the same rate. (See table 1.) All states
in the East North Central, Middle Atlantic (which includes New
York and New Jersey), and Pacific divisions reported union
membership rates at or above the national average, and all states
in the East South Central and West South Central divisions had
rates below it. (See chart 1.) Union membership rates rose over
the year in 26 states and the District of Columbia, declined in
20 states (including New York and New Jersey), and were unchanged
in 4 states.
Three states had union membership rates above 20 percent in
2008. New York had the highest rate, followed by Hawaii and
Alaska, with rates of 24.3 and 23.5 percent, respectively. In
fact, New York has had the highest membership rate for 11 of the
past 12 years. Six states had union membership rates below 5.0
percent, with North Carolina having the lowest, 3.5 percent. The
next lowest rates were recorded in Georgia (3.7 percent), South
Carolina (3.9 percent), Virginia (4.1 percent), Texas (4.5
percent), and Louisiana (4.6 percent).
More than half (8.7 million) of the 16.1 million union members
in the United States lived in just seven states (California, 2.7
million; New York, 2.0 million; Illinois, 0.9 million;
Pennsylvania and Michigan, 0.8 million, each; and Ohio and New
Jersey, 0.7 million each), though these states accounted for
about one-third of wage and salary employment nationally.
State union membership levels depend on both the union
membership rate and the employment level. For example, despite
having 1.8 million fewer wage and salary employees statewide, New
York had four and a half times as many union members as Texas.
Similarly, New Jersey, with 241,000 fewer wage and salary
employees, had over four and a half times as many union members
as Georgia.
Technical Note
The estimates in this release are obtained from the Current
Population Survey (CPS), which provides the basic information on
the labor force, employment, and unemployment. The survey is
conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S.
Census Bureau from a scientifically selected national sample of
about 60,000 households. The union membership and earnings data
are tabulated from one-quarter of the CPS monthly sample and are
limited to wage and salary workers. All self-employed workers
are excluded.
Union membership data, particularly for levels, are not
strictly comparable with data for earlier years because of the
introduction of updated population controls used in the CPS.
These updated controls have little or no effect on unemployment
rates and other ratios, such as union membership rates. For
technical documentation and related information, including
reliability of the CPS estimates, see
www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm.
For personal assistance or further information on union
membership, as well as other Bureau data, contact the New York
Information Office at 646-264-3600 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
and 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. Information in this release will
be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request.
Voice phone: 202-691-5200, TDD message referral phone number: 1-
800-877-8339.
Definitions
The principal definitions used in this release are described
briefly below.
Union members. Members of a labor union or an employee
association similar to a union.
Represented by unions. Union members, as well as workers
who have no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a
union or an employee association contract.
Wage and salary workers. Workers who receive wages,
salaries, commissions, tips, payment in kind, or piece rates.
The group includes employees in both the private and public
sectors, but, for the purposes of the union membership and
earnings series, excludes all self-employed persons, regardless
of whether or not their businesses are incorporated.
NYLS - 7371 Labor - New York
3/25/09
Table 1. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by state
(Numbers in thousands)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2007 2008
Members of Represented Members of Represented
unions (1) by unions (2) unions (1) by unions (2)
State
Total Total
employed Percent Percent employed Percent Percent
Total of Total of Total of Total of
em- em- em- em-
ployed ployed ployed ployed
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Alabama......................................... 1,895 180 9.5 201 10.6 1,858 181 9.8 199 10.7
Alaska.......................................... 284 68 23.8 70 24.7 289 68 23.5 71 24.7
Arizona......................................... 2,619 230 8.8 255 9.7 2,579 227 8.8 254 9.8
Arkansas........................................ 1,154 62 5.4 75 6.5 1,158 68 5.9 85 7.3
California...................................... 14,856 2,474 16.7 2,650 17.8 14,889 2,740 18.4 2,909 19.5
Colorado........................................ 2,204 191 8.7 202 9.2 2,254 181 8.0 208 9.2
Connecticut..................................... 1,617 253 15.6 269 16.6 1,625 275 16.9 291 17.9
Delaware........................................ 396 47 12.0 50 12.8 391 52 13.4 57 14.7
District of Columbia............................ 278 29 10.3 38 13.6 288 35 12.2 41 14.3
Florida......................................... 7,741 455 5.9 562 7.3 7,573 482 6.4 601 7.9
Georgia......................................... 4,181 186 4.4 226 5.4 4,084 151 3.7 189 4.6
Hawaii.......................................... 556 130 23.4 135 24.2 562 136 24.3 143 25.5
Idaho........................................... 635 33 5.3 41 6.4 602 42 7.1 48 8.0
Illinois........................................ 5,802 842 14.5 884 15.2 5,662 939 16.6 993 17.5
Indiana......................................... 2,779 333 12.0 359 12.9 2,811 349 12.4 386 13.7
Iowa............................................ 1,417 149 10.5 185 13.1 1,437 153 10.6 187 13.0
Kansas.......................................... 1,274 89 7.0 110 8.7 1,273 89 7.0 111 8.7
Kentucky........................................ 1,734 157 9.1 192 11.1 1,703 146 8.6 163 9.6
Louisiana....................................... 1,670 94 5.6 108 6.5 1,724 80 4.6 97 5.6
Maine........................................... 574 67 11.7 79 13.8 574 71 12.3 84 14.7
Maryland........................................ 2,598 335 12.9 376 14.5 2,610 329 12.6 380 14.5
Massachusetts................................... 2,882 379 13.2 402 14.0 2,909 458 15.7 491 16.9
Michigan........................................ 4,193 819 19.5 865 20.6 4,089 771 18.8 801 19.6
Minnesota....................................... 2,460 400 16.3 419 17.0 2,430 392 16.1 412 17.0
Mississippi..................................... 1,068 72 6.7 95 8.9 1,089 57 5.3 79 7.3
Missouri........................................ 2,585 275 10.7 308 11.9 2,543 285 11.2 327 12.8
Montana......................................... 399 54 13.5 62 15.6 389 47 12.2 61 15.7
Nebraska........................................ 836 65 7.8 81 9.7 840 70 8.3 90 10.7
Nevada.......................................... 1,177 182 15.4 208 17.7 1,192 199 16.7 217 18.2
New Hampshire................................... 631 61 9.7 70 11.2 635 67 10.6 79 12.4
New Jersey...................................... 3,897 748 19.2 802 20.6 3,843 703 18.3 731 19.0
New Mexico...................................... 800 62 7.7 91 11.4 807 58 7.2 94 11.6
New York........................................ 8,150 2,055 25.2 2,146 26.3 8,165 2,029 24.9 2,170 26.6
North Carolina.................................. 3,771 114 3.0 147 3.9 3,799 132 3.5 189 5.0
North Dakota.................................... 303 19 6.4 23 7.6 308 19 6.1 25 8.2
Ohio............................................ 5,187 730 14.1 797 15.4 5,046 716 14.2 783 15.5
Oklahoma........................................ 1,456 103 7.1 124 8.5 1,529 102 6.6 127 8.3
Oregon.......................................... 1,582 227 14.3 243 15.4 1,566 259 16.6 272 17.4
Pennsylvania.................................... 5,496 830 15.1 910 16.6 5,504 847 15.4 899 16.3
Rhode Island.................................... 497 75 15.0 78 15.8 471 78 16.5 82 17.4
South Carolina.................................. 1,873 78 4.1 111 5.9 1,792 70 3.9 105 5.8
South Dakota.................................... 354 23 6.5 27 7.7 369 18 5.0 24 6.4
Tennessee....................................... 2,596 138 5.3 166 6.4 2,534 139 5.5 166 6.6
Texas........................................... 9,899 463 4.7 566 5.7 9,991 449 4.5 559 5.6
Utah............................................ 1,153 67 5.8 78 6.8 1,178 68 5.8 84 7.1
Vermont......................................... 288 30 10.4 35 12.2 284 29 10.4 36 12.8
Virginia........................................ 3,502 129 3.7 167 4.8 3,597 146 4.1 178 5.0
Washington...................................... 2,874 579 20.2 616 21.4 2,912 578 19.8 626 21.5
West Virginia................................... 724 97 13.3 107 14.7 736 101 13.8 112 15.3
Wisconsin....................................... 2,631 376 14.3 405 15.4 2,642 396 15.0 422 16.0
Wyoming......................................... 239 19 7.9 22 9.4 241 19 7.7 21 8.9
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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.
NOTE: Data refer to the sole or principal job of full- and part-time 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.
Last Modified Date: April 1, 2009
