In 2011, union members accounted for 24.1 percent of wage and salary workers in New York and 16.1 percent in New Jersey, compared with 24.2 percent and 17.1 percent, respectively, in 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Denis M. McSweeney noted that union membership rates in 2011 were the lowest rates recorded in both New York and New Jersey since 1989, when the state series began. (See chart 1 and table A.) Despite reaching series lows, both states had union membership rates above that for the nation in 2011, as union members accounted for only 11.8 percent of employed wage and salary workers in the United States. New York's union membership rate was the highest in the nation in 2011.

New York had 1,906,000 union members in 2011 and New Jersey, 615,000. In addition to these members, another 162,000 wage and salary workers in New York and 26,000 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 table A.) Nationwide, 14.8 million wage and salary workers were union members in 2011 and 1.5 million wage and salary workers were not affiliated with a union but had jobs covered by a union contract.

Table A. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers in New York and New Jersey, annual averages, 1989-2011 (Numbers in Thousands)

Year	Total employed	Members of unions 1		Represented by unions 2
		Total	Percent of employed	Total	Percent of employed
New York
1989	7,322	2,042	27.9	2,185	29.8
1990	7,542	2,113	28.0	2,305	30.6
1991	7,188	2,094	29.1	2,260	31.4
1992	6,952	1,920	27.6	2,051	29.5
1993	7,089	2,034	28.7	2,170	30.6
1994	̶	̶	̶	̶	̶
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
2009	8,021	2,019	25.2	2,182	27.2
2010	8,078	1,959	24.2	2,099	26.0
2011	7,920	1,906	24.1	2,068	26.1
New Jersey
1989	3,443	797	23.1	861	25.0
1990	3,444	827	24.0	905	26.3
1991	3,357	815	24.3	874	26.0
1992	3,331	762	22.9	819	24.6
1993	3,307	733	22.2	791	23.9
1994	̶	̶	̶	̶	̶
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
2009	3,734	721	19.3	742	19.9
2010	3,734	637	17.1	660	17.7
2011	3,816	615	16.1	641	16.8
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. 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. Dash indicates no data or data that do not meet publication criteria.

In 2011, 21 states had union membership rates above the U.S. average, 11.8 percent, of which 12 had rates above 15 percent. (See table 1.) Of the 12 states with the highest rates, 4 were located in the Northeast, 3 in the Midwest, and the remaining 5 bordered the Pacific Ocean. (See chart 2.) New York had the highest rate, followed by Alaska (22.1 percent), Hawaii (21.5 percent), and Washington (19.0 percent). In fact, New York has had the highest membership rate in the nation for 15 of the past 17 years.

Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia had union membership rates below the national average of 11.8 percent in 2011. Seven of these states had union membership rates below 5.0 percent, with North Carolina having the lowest, 2.9 percent. The next lowest rates were recorded in South Carolina (3.4 percent), Georgia (3.9 percent), Arkansas (4.2 percent), Louisiana (4.5 percent), and Tennessee and Virginia (4.6 percent each).

Over half of the 14.8 million union members in the United States lived in just seven states (California, 2.4 million; New York, 1.9 million; Illinois 0.9 million; Pennsylvania, 0.8 million; Michigan 0.7 million; and New Jersey and Ohio, 0.6 million each), though these states accounted for only 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 2.3 million fewer wage and salary employees statewide, New York had over three times as many union members as Texas. Similarly, New Jersey, with 60,000 fewer wage and salary employees, had roughly four 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 12:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200, Federal Relay Service: 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, 2010-2011 annual averages (Numbers in thousands)

State	2010					2011
	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	1,809	183	10.1	203	11.2	1,781	178	10.0	193	10.8
Alaska	295	68	22.9	73	24.8	306	68	22.1	73	23.7
Arizona	2,507	161	6.4	203	8.1	2,493	149	6.0	183	7.3
Arkansas	1,082	44	4.0	59	5.4	1,116	47	4.2	57	5.1
California	13,892	2,431	17.5	2,578	18.6	13,931	2,379	17.1	2,532	18.2
Colorado	2,130	140	6.6	171	8.0	2,186	179	8.2	203	9.3
Connecticut	1,549	258	16.7	270	17.4	1,542	259	16.8	272	17.7
Delaware	352	40	11.4	44	12.5	370	39	10.5	42	11.2
District of Columbia	287	26	9.0	30	10.5	281	23	8.3	28	9.9
Florida	7,033	392	5.6	488	6.9	7,283	460	6.3	557	7.6
Georgia	3,792	153	4.0	191	5.0	3,876	153	3.9	185	4.8
Hawaii	511	111	21.8	120	23.5	525	113	21.5	118	22.5
Idaho	584	42	7.1	50	8.6	594	31	5.1	36	6.1
Illinois	5,434	844	15.5	891	16.4	5,408	876	16.2	929	17.2
Indiana	2,554	279	10.9	313	12.2	2,681	302	11.3	333	12.4
Iowa	1,393	158	11.4	192	13.8	1,386	155	11.2	187	13.5
Kansas	1,222	84	6.8	111	9.1	1,268	97	7.6	128	10.1
Kentucky	1,642	147	8.9	166	10.1	1,678	150	8.9	173	10.3
Louisiana	1,742	76	4.3	96	5.5	1,717	77	4.5	91	5.3
Maine	543	63	11.6	71	13.0	554	63	11.3	74	13.4
Maryland	2,558	296	11.6	329	12.9	2,549	316	12.4	348	13.7
Massachusetts	2,866	415	14.5	446	15.6	2,882	422	14.6	445	15.4
Michigan	3,806	627	16.5	659	17.3	3,838	671	17.5	703	18.3
Minnesota	2,468	385	15.6	397	16.1	2,461	371	15.1	390	15.8
Mississippi	1,037	46	4.5	58	5.6	1,081	54	5.0	73	6.8
Missouri	2,469	244	9.9	274	11.1	2,531	275	10.9	316	12.5
Montana	364	46	12.7	52	14.4	377	49	13.0	55	14.6
Nebraska	813	75	9.3	96	11.8	828	65	7.9	83	10.0
Nevada	1,012	151	15.0	170	16.8	1,050	154	14.6	175	16.6
New Hampshire	622	63	10.2	73	11.7	617	68	11.1	77	12.5
New Jersey	3,734	637	17.1	660	17.7	3,816	615	16.1	641	16.8
New Mexico	750	55	7.3	72	9.7	726	49	6.8	65	9.0
New York	8,078	1,959	24.2	2,099	26.0	7,920	1,906	24.1	2,068	26.1
North Carolina	3,686	117	3.2	180	4.9	3,589	105	2.9	149	4.1
North Dakota	313	23	7.4	28	9.1	318	20	6.3	27	8.6
Ohio	4,787	655	13.7	702	14.7	4,813	647	13.4	706	14.7
Oklahoma	1,418	77	5.5	99	6.9	1,458	94	6.4	113	7.7
Oregon	1,515	245	16.2	268	17.7	1,574	270	17.1	286	18.1
Pennsylvania	5,224	770	14.7	831	15.9	5,348	779	14.6	846	15.8
Rhode Island	456	75	16.4	79	17.4	453	79	17.4	81	17.9
South Carolina	1,713	80	4.6	107	6.2	1,726	59	3.4	86	5.0
South Dakota	357	20	5.6	24	6.6	359	18	5.1	23	6.5
Tennessee	2,477	115	4.7	142	5.8	2,504	115	4.6	139	5.6
Texas	10,025	545	5.4	677	6.7	10,214	534	5.2	643	6.3
Utah	1,144	75	6.5	96	8.4	1,150	67	5.8	82	7.1
Vermont	289	34	11.8	40	13.6	290	35	12.0	39	13.5
Virginia	3,473	161	4.6	196	5.7	3,550	163	4.6	198	5.6
Washington	2,837	552	19.4	605	21.3	2,727	517	19.0	557	20.4
West Virginia	677	100	14.8	111	16.5	672	93	13.8	102	15.2
Wisconsin	2,508	355	14.2	380	15.1	2,538	339	13.3	358	14.1
Wyoming	246	18	7.4	21	8.4	250	18	7.2	21	8.4
Footnotes 1 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union. 2 Data refer to both union members and 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 wage and salary workers. All self-employed workers are excluded, both those with incorporated businesses as well as those with unincorporated businesses. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.