FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: (816) 285-7000 Media Contact: Jacqueline Michael-Midkiff 816-285-7001 |
FOR RELEASE: April 18, 2008 |
UNION MEMBERSHIP RATE IN MISSOURI IS 10.7 PERCENT IN 2007
In 2007, the number of workers in Missouri belonging to a union was 275,000, little changed from the prior year, 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 10.7 percent of wage and salary workers in Missouri in 2007, similar to the 10.9 percent posted in 2006. This year's union membership rate was the lowest recorded in the 19 years of the data series. At its peak in 1989, the first year for which comparable state data were available, the State's union membership rate was 15.5 percent. (See chart A.)
Nationally, the number of workers belonging to a union rose by 311,000 to nearly 15.7 million in 2007. Union members accounted for 12.1 percent of employed wage and salary workers, essentially unchanged from 12.0 percent in 2006. 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, 1989-2007
In addition to the 275,000 wage and salary workers in Missouri who were union members in 2007, another 33,000 workers were represented by a union on their main job, while not being union members themselves. (See table A.) Nationwide, 1.6 million wage and salary workers were represented by a union on their main job but not union members themselves.
Year | Total employed | Members of unions | Represented by unions | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 |
(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 2007, 30 states and the District of Columbia had union membership rates below that of the U.S. average, 12.1 percent, while 20 states had higher rates. (See table 1.) Nationwide, union membership rates were down from those of 2006 in 27 states (including Missouri), up in 20 states, and unchanged in 3 states and the District of Columbia.
Five states reported union membership rates below 5.0 percent in 2007-North Carolina (3.0 percent), Virginia (3.7 percent), South Carolina (4.1 percent), Georgia (4.4 percent), and Texas (4.7 percent). (See chart 1.) Four states had union membership rates over 20.0 percent-New York (25.2 percent), Alaska (23.8 percent), Hawaii (23.4 percent), and Washington (20.2 percent).
Missouri is one of seven states in the West North Central division; in this geographic grouping, only Minnesota (16.3 percent) posted a union membership rate above the national average. In the Middle Atlantic and the Pacific divisions, all of the states reported union membership rates 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.
Nearly half (7.8 million) of the 15.7 million union members in the United States lived in 6 states (California, 2.5 million; New York, 2.1 million; Illinois, 0.8 million; Michigan, 0.8 million; Pennsylvania, 0.8 million; and New Jersey, 0.7 million), though these states accounted for only about 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 48 percent more union members than Georgia, despite having 1.6 million fewer wage and salary workers. Similarly, Virginia and Hawaii had virtually the same number of union members, even though Virginia's wage and salary employment was more than six 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 levels, for each year are not strictly comparable with data for earlier years because of the introduction of revised population controls used in the CPS. The effect of the revised population controls on the union membership estimates is unknown. However, the effect of the new controls in 2007 on the monthly CPS estimates for the U.S. was to increase the December 2006 employment level by 153,000 and the unemployment level by 10,000. The updated controls had little or no effect on unemployment rates and other ratios, such as union membership rates. For additional information, see "Adjustments to Household Survey Population Estimates in January 2007" in the February 2007 issue of Employment and Earnings, available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cps/cps07adj.pdf.
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.
Reliability of the estimates
Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. When a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed, there is a chance that the sample estimates may differ from the "true" population values they represent. The exact difference, or sampling error, varies depending upon the particular sample selected, and this variability is measured by the standard error of the estimate. There is about a 90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that an estimate based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 standard errors from the "true" population value because of sampling error.
The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur for many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of the population, inability to obtain information for all respondents in the sample, inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct information, and errors made in the collection or processing of the data.
For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and information on estimating standard errors, see the Household Data section of the "Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error" at http://www.bls.gov/cps/eetech_methods.pdf.
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.
State | 2006 | 2007 | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 |
1,930 | 170 | 8.8 | 194 | 10.0 | 1,895 | 180 | 9.5 | 201 | 10.6 |
Alaska |
280 | 62 | 22.2 | 67 | 23.8 | 284 | 68 | 23.8 | 70 | 24.7 |
Arizona |
2,584 | 197 | 7.6 | 250 | 9.7 | 2,619 | 230 | 8.8 | 255 | 9.7 |
Arkansas |
1,130 | 58 | 5.1 | 67 | 6.0 | 1,154 | 62 | 5.4 | 75 | 6.5 |
California |
14,501 | 2,273 | 15.7 | 2,444 | 16.9 | 14,856 | 2,474 | 16.7 | 2,650 | 17.8 |
Colorado |
2,154 | 165 | 7.7 | 186 | 8.6 | 2,204 | 191 | 8.7 | 202 | 9.2 |
Connecticut |
1,591 | 247 | 15.6 | 263 | 16.5 | 1,617 | 253 | 15.6 | 269 | 16.6 |
Delaware |
396 | 43 | 10.8 | 45 | 11.4 | 396 | 47 | 12.0 | 50 | 12.8 |
District of Columbia |
246 | 25 | 10.3 | 30 | 12.2 | 278 | 29 | 10.3 | 38 | 13.6 |
Florida |
7,676 | 397 | 5.2 | 497 | 6.5 | 7,741 | 455 | 5.9 | 562 | 7.3 |
Georgia |
3,974 | 176 | 4.4 | 230 | 5.8 | 4,181 | 186 | 4.4 | 226 | 5.4 |
Hawaii |
562 | 139 | 24.7 | 146 | 25.9 | 556 | 130 | 23.4 | 135 | 24.2 |
Idaho |
620 | 37 | 6.0 | 45 | 7.2 | 635 | 33 | 5.3 | 41 | 6.4 |
Illinois |
5,684 | 931 | 16.4 | 979 | 17.2 | 5,802 | 842 | 14.5 | 884 | 15.2 |
Indiana |
2,787 | 334 | 12.0 | 362 | 13.0 | 2,779 | 333 | 12.0 | 359 | 12.9 |
Iowa |
1,424 | 161 | 11.3 | 199 | 14.0 | 1,417 | 149 | 10.5 | 185 | 13.1 |
Kansas |
1,236 | 99 | 8.0 | 115 | 9.3 | 1,274 | 89 | 7.0 | 110 | 8.7 |
Kentucky |
1,752 | 172 | 9.8 | 196 | 11.2 | 1,734 | 157 | 9.1 | 192 | 11.1 |
Louisiana |
1,676 | 107 | 6.4 | 121 | 7.2 | 1,670 | 94 | 5.6 | 108 | 6.5 |
Maine |
584 | 69 | 11.9 | 79 | 13.5 | 574 | 67 | 11.7 | 79 | 13.8 |
Maryland |
2,614 | 342 | 13.1 | 386 | 14.8 | 2,598 | 335 | 12.9 | 376 | 14.5 |
Massachusetts |
2,859 | 414 | 14.5 | 438 | 15.3 | 2,882 | 379 | 13.2 | 402 | 14.0 |
Michigan |
4,299 | 842 | 19.6 | 879 | 20.4 | 4,193 | 819 | 19.5 | 865 | 20.6 |
Minnesota |
2,479 | 395 | 16.0 | 416 | 16.8 | 2,460 | 400 | 16.3 | 419 | 17.0 |
Mississippi |
1,065 | 60 | 5.6 | 78 | 7.3 | 1,068 | 72 | 6.7 | 95 | 8.9 |
Missouri |
2,610 | 284 | 10.9 | 310 | 11.9 | 2,585 | 275 | 10.7 | 308 | 11.9 |
Montana |
397 | 48 | 12.2 | 52 | 13.1 | 399 | 54 | 13.5 | 62 | 15.6 |
Nebraska |
831 | 66 | 7.9 | 79 | 9.5 | 836 | 65 | 7.8 | 81 | 9.7 |
Nevada |
1,124 | 167 | 14.8 | 191 | 17.0 | 1,177 | 182 | 15.4 | 208 | 17.7 |
New Hampshire |
620 | 63 | 10.1 | 70 | 11.3 | 631 | 61 | 9.7 | 70 | 11.2 |
New Jersey |
3,827 | 770 | 20.1 | 825 | 21.6 | 3,897 | 748 | 19.2 | 802 | 20.6 |
New Mexico |
796 | 62 | 7.8 | 92 | 11.5 | 800 | 62 | 7.7 | 91 | 11.4 |
New York |
8,115 | 1,981 | 24.4 | 2,060 | 25.4 | 8,150 | 2,055 | 25.2 | 2,146 | 26.3 |
North Carolina |
3,810 | 126 | 3.3 | 155 | 4.1 | 3,771 | 114 | 3.0 | 147 | 3.9 |
North Dakota |
300 | 20 | 6.8 | 24 | 8.0 | 303 | 19 | 6.4 | 23 | 7.6 |
Ohio |
5,170 | 734 | 14.2 | 801 | 15.5 | 5,187 | 730 | 14.1 | 797 | 15.4 |
Oklahoma |
1,453 | 93 | 6.4 | 112 | 7.7 | 1,456 | 103 | 7.1 | 124 | 8.5 |
Oregon |
1,527 | 211 | 13.8 | 225 | 14.7 | 1,582 | 227 | 14.3 | 243 | 15.4 |
Pennsylvania |
5,457 | 745 | 13.6 | 802 | 14.7 | 5,496 | 830 | 15.1 | 910 | 16.6 |
Rhode Island |
498 | 76 | 15.3 | 79 | 16.0 | 497 | 75 | 15.0 | 78 | 15.8 |
South Carolina |
1,775 | 59 | 3.3 | 74 | 4.2 | 1,873 | 78 | 4.1 | 111 | 5.9 |
South Dakota |
351 | 21 | 5.9 | 25 | 7.2 | 354 | 23 | 6.5 | 27 | 7.7 |
Tennessee |
2,550 | 153 | 6.0 | 174 | 6.8 | 2,596 | 138 | 5.3 | 166 | 6.4 |
Texas |
9,751 | 476 | 4.9 | 576 | 5.9 | 9,899 | 463 | 4.7 | 566 | 5.7 |
Utah |
1,121 | 61 | 5.4 | 69 | 6.1 | 1,153 | 67 | 5.8 | 78 | 6.8 |
Vermont |
305 | 34 | 11.0 | 39 | 12.9 | 288 | 30 | 10.4 | 35 | 12.2 |
Virginia |
3,446 | 139 | 4.0 | 179 | 5.2 | 3,502 | 129 | 3.7 | 167 | 4.8 |
Washington |
2,772 | 549 | 19.8 | 583 | 21.0 | 2,874 | 579 | 20.2 | 616 | 21.4 |
West Virginia |
710 | 101 | 14.2 | 110 | 15.5 | 724 | 97 | 13.3 | 107 | 14.7 |
Wisconsin |
2,587 | 386 | 14.9 | 415 | 16.1 | 2,631 | 376 | 14.3 | 405 | 15.4 |
Wyoming |
235 | 19 | 8.3 | 24 | 10.0 | 239 | 19 | 7.9 | 22 | 9.4 |
(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, 2007 annual averages
(U.S. rate = 12.1 percent)
______________________________________________________________________
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request.
Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number (Federal Relay Service):
1-800-877-8339.
______________________________________________________________________
Last Modified Date: July 9, 2008