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March 6, 2009

 

UNION MEMBERSHIP IN 2008

Membership Rate in Missouri was 11.2 Percent

In 2008, the number of workers in Missouri belonging to a union was 285,000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that union members accounted for 11.2 percent of wage and salary workers in 2008, compared with the 10.7 percent posted in 2007. At its peak in 1989, the first year for which comparable state data were available, Missouri's union membership rate was 15.5 percent. (See chart A.)

Nationally, the number of workers belonging to a union rose by 428,000 to 16,098,000 in 2008. Union members accounted for 12.4 percent of employed wage and salary workers, up from 12.1 percent in 2007. In 1983, the first year for which comparable national union data were available, the union membership rate was 20.1 percent.

Chart A. Members of unions as a percent of employed in the United States and Missouri, 1989-2008
Members of unions as a percent of employed in the United States and Missouri

In addition to Missouri's 285,000 wage and salary workers who were union members in 2008, another 42,000 workers were represented by a union on their main job or were covered by an employee association or contract while not being union members themselves. (See table A.) Nationwide, about 16.1 million wage and salary workers were union members in 2008 and about 1.7 million wage and salary workers were represented by a union on their main job but not union members themselves.

Table A. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers in Missouri, annual averages, 1989-2008 (Numbers in thousands)
Year Total employed Members of unions(1) Represented by unions(2)
Total Percent of employed Total Percent of employed

1989

 2,189 338 15.5 385 17.6

1990

 2,154 294 13.6 337 15.7

1991

 2,159 304 14.1 337 15.6

1992

 2,225 304 13.7 348 15.6

1993

 2,147 305 14.2 344 16.0

1994

 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

1995

 2,341 342 14.6 387 16.5

1996

 2,440 375 15.4 409 16.8

1997

 2,464 359 14.6 389 15.8

1998

 2,449 336 13.7 369 15.1

1999

 2,458 353 14.4 376 15.3

2000

 2,583 341 13.2 376 14.6

2001

 2,592 346 13.4 378 14.6

2002

 2,508 332 13.2 366 14.6

2003

 2,546 336 13.2 363 14.2

2004

 2,546 315 12.4 357 14.0

2005

 2,532 290 11.5 319 12.6

2006

 2,610 284 10.9 310 11.9

2007

 2,585 275 10.7 308 11.9

2008

 2,543 285 11.2 327 12.8

Footnotes:
(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 are not members but whose jobs are covered by a union or employee association contract.

n/a - Not available.

In 2008, 29 states and the District of Columbia had union membership rates below that of the U.S. average, 12.4 percent, while 20 states had higher rates and 1 state had the same rate. (See table 1.) Union membership rates rose over the year in 26 states and the District of Columbia, declined in 20 states (including Missouri), and were unchanged in 4 states.

Six states had union membership rates below 5.0 percent in 2008, with North Carolina having the lowest rate (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). Three states had union membership rates over 20.0 percent-New York (24.9 percent), Hawaii (24.3 percent), and Alaska (23.5 percent).

Missouri is one of seven states in the West North Central division; in this geographic grouping, only Minnesota (16.1 percent) posted a union membership rate above the national average. In the East North Central, Middle Atlantic, and Pacific divisions, all of the states reported union membership rates at or above that for the United States. In contrast, the states in the East South Central and West South Central divisions all had union membership rates that were below the national average.

About half (8.0 million) of the 16.1 million union members in the United States lived in just 6 states (California, 2.7 million; New York, 2.0 million; Illinois, 0.9 million; Pennsylvania, 0.8 million; Michigan, 0.8 million; and Ohio, 0.7 million), though these states accounted for only one-third of wage and salary employment nationally.

State union membership levels depend on both the employment level and union membership rate. For example, Missouri had close to twice the number of union members as Georgia (285,000 to 151,000, respectively) despite having 1.5 million fewer wage and salary workers. Similarly, North Carolina and Hawaii had a comparable number of union members (132,000 to 136,000, respectively), even though North Carolina's wage and salary employment was almost seven times that of Hawaii.

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 in the U.S. The survey is conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau from a scientifically selected sample of about 60,000 households nationwide. The union membership 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. The effect of the revised population controls on the union membership estimates is unknown. 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 Kansas City Information Office at 816-285-7000 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. CT. 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.

Table 1. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by state, 2007-2008 (Numbers in thousands)
State 2007 2008
Total employed Members of unions(1) Represented by unions(2) Total employed Members of unions(1) Represented by unions(2)
Total Percent of employed Total Percent of employed Total Percent of employed Total Percent of employed

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

Footnotes:
(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.

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.
Chart 1.  Union membership rates by state, 2008 annual averages (U.S. Rate = 12.4 percent)

Chart 1. Union membership rates by state, 2008 annual averages

 

Last Modified Date: March 6, 2009