Union membership has been declining since 1983, and reached a historic low in 2023. There was a slight rise in 2020, but this has been attributed to union members being less likely to lose their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, the rate of union membership declined again to ten percent. Despite this constant decline, the number of workers represented by a union increased in 2023.

The share of workers in the United States who are members of labor unions has been on the decline since 1983. While rates of union membership have gotten closer between men and women, the rate of male union membership has declined more drastically than that of women. In 2023, 10.5 percent of working men were union members compared to 9.5 percent of women.

Union membership has been on the decline across all industries in the United States since 2000. While rates of union membership in the public sector are significantly higher than the private sector, the rate has been declining since 2000. In 2023, 32.5 percent of public sector workers were union members.

In 2023, there were around 14.14 million workers who were members of labor unions in the United States. Despite a general decline in union membership, this was an increase from 2022, when there were roughly 14.29 billion union members in the United States.

In 2023, Hawaii had the highest rate of union membership among its working population, with 24.1 percent being a union member. The least unionized state was South Carolina, with a rate of 2.3 percent.

Labor unions, also known as trade unions, reached their peak in the advanced industrial countries of the G7 and Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) in the late twentieth century; since the 1980s however, their memberships have declined drastically, in some countries by as much as 50 percent. The labor movement arose in the nineteenth century to represent workers' interests in collective bargaining and to protests against poor wages and work conditions. From their peak in the twentieth century, unions have declined to represent much smaller numbers of workers today, in many countries being active mainly among public sector workers, such as in the United States. The rise and fall of union power In their rise during the twentieth century, labor unions were tightly connected to political parties of social democratic or socialist bent, while also being connected with Christian democrats in some continental European countries. As these parties came to power in the post-WWII period, unions were institutionalized into a system of social partnership with employers and the government in many countries. This agreement minimized labor disputes, while focusing on increasing productivity, which led to a period of unprecedented economic growth. As this system ran up against intractable economic problems in the 1970s, however, parties came to power who pursued a 'neoliberal' agenda of liberalization of the labor market and the privatization of nationalized companies. Since the late 1970s, these policies have caused union membership to decline drastically, as unions could engage in the same level of collective bargaining in a more interconnected and globalized international economy.

In 2023, union membership was highest those working in the public sector, with around 38.4 percent of local government workers being union members. In the private sector, workers in the transportation and utilities industry had the highest union membership rates, with 16.5 percent of workers in unions.

While union membership has been on the decline nationwide since 2000, the mining, quarrying, and oil and natural gas industry has seen a recent increase. The industry had relatively high rates of union membership compared with averages across all industries at the start of the century. In 2000, around nine percent of workers were members of unions compared to 11.3 percent of industry workers. The rate spiked in 2022 after union membership in oil and gas reached an all time low in 2019. However, membership once again fell to 4.3 percent in 2023.

The rate of union membership in the United States has been on the decline since 2000 across all races and ethnicities. The Black and African American working population has maintained the highest rates of union membership. Between 2022 and 2023, Asian workers saw the largest increase in the rate of union membership decreased from 8.3 percent to 7.8 percent. The total number of union members in the United States can be found here.

Union membership in the manufacturing industry has seen a rapid decline since the turn of the century. In 2000, rates of union membership were relatively high in the manufacturing industry compared to the all-industry average, with 14.9 percent of workers being part of a union. However, while still higher than average, the rate reached a record low in 2021 at 7.7 percent. This did increase slightly in 2022 and 2023, while the all-industry average declined again.

Union membership has been on the decline across all industries in the United States since 2000. Union membership rates in the educational services industry increased between 2000 and 2023. In 2023, around 12.9 percent of workers in the educational services industry were members of a union, compared with 6 percent of the American working population in the private sector.

Labor unions, or trade unions as they are known in Europe, are organizations formed by workers in order to represent their collective interests, particularly in relation to wages and working conditions. Historically, labor unions emerged during the industrial revolution of the nineteenth century to represent the interests of industrial workers, who flocked to work in factories, mines, and other growing manufacturing enterprises. In most high-income countries, labor unions reached their peak during the post-WWII period, when governments mediated between the interests of labor unions and the owners of capital. With the economic crises of the 1970s, however, the labor movement suffered historic defeats in Europe and North America, with union density declining rapidly in many countries due to a host of pro-market and anti-union policies which have come to be referred to as 'neoliberalism'. Labor unions today In the twenty-first century, labor unions have retreated from their key role in national economic decisions in many countries, as globalization has lowered barriers to movement of labor, enabled 'off-shoring' jobs to lower wage countries, and promoted the lowering of labor standards in order to pursue cost competitiveness. In spite of this trend, certain regions still showcase high levels of union density and retain their traditions of unions being involved in determining economic policy. Notably, the Nordic countries make up five of the top six most unionized countries, with Iceland in first place being followed by Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and then Norway.

Other notable trends among the top placed countries are states which have had a historical relationship with communism (often a key driver of the labor movement), such as Cuba, Vietnam, China, and Kazakhstan. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, labor unions and the wider labor movement has become more prominent, as workers have sought to fight for health & safety conditions in the workplace, as well as to combat high inflation related to the pandemic.

Union membership has been on the decline across all industries in the United States since 2000. Membership in the health care and social assistance industry however, has declined only .2 percent in the observed time period. Membership across all industries has declined by three percent in the same time period.

The rate of employees represented by unions has been declining since 1983, and reached a historic low in 2023 with 11.2 percent of employees represented. Employees represented by unions are not necessarily union members themselves, rather, their jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract. The rate of union membership can be found here.

While union membership has been on the decline nationwide since 2000, the agricultural industry has seen a recent increase. The industry has had low rates of union membership compared with averages across all industries. In 2000, around nine percent of workers were members of unions compared to 2.6 percent of agricultural workers. However, in 2023 only six percent of U.S. workers were union members compared with 2.2 percent of agricultural workers.

Union membership has been on the decline across all industries in the United States since 2000. Union membership in the leisure and hospitality industry reached an all time low in 2020, but increased in 2022 and 2023.

In 2023, the union membership rate of public sector employees stood at 32.5 percent, a decrease from the previous year. There has been a general decline in union membership rates, albeit it has been less dramatic in the public sector.

In 2022, New York had the highest rate of union membership among public sector employees at 67 percent. The state of South Carolina had the lowest rate of union membership at 5.68 percent. The U.S. average for 2023 was 32.5 percent.

Union membership has been on the decline across all industries in the United States since 2000. In the professional and financial services sector, rates of union membership have been relatively low and unchanged since 2000. In 2023, around six percent of American workers across all industries were union members, compared with 2.3 percent of workers in the professional and business services industry.

Union membership has been on the decline across all industries in the United States since 2000. Additionally, union membership in the wholesale and retail industry has been below average. In 2023 the all-industry average remained at six percent, while the wholesale and retail trade membership rate was 3.9 percent.