Union Membership Rate
Union membership rate
Where the Union Membership Rate stands now
The Union Membership Rate was 10.0% in 2025, up from the 9.9% low in 2024.
How the Union Membership Rate has moved since 1983
Union Membership Rate: little changed over the past year
Union members as a share of employed wage and salary workers: 10.0% in 2025, little changed from 9.9% a year earlier. Annual, 1983–2025.
What the Union Membership Rate measures
A lower rate is worse for households.
Union Membership Rate by year, 1983 to 2025
| Year | Rate (%) | Change from a year earlier (percentage points) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 10.0 | +0.1 |
| 2024 | 9.9 | −0.1 |
| 2023 | 10.0 | −0.1 |
| 2022 | 10.1 | −0.2 |
| 2021 | 10.3 | −0.5 |
| 2020 | 10.8 | +0.5 |
| 2019 | 10.3 | −0.2 |
| 2018 | 10.5 | −0.2 |
| 2017 | 10.7 | 0.0 |
| 2016 | 10.7 | −0.4 |
| 2015 | 11.1 | 0.0 |
| 2014 | 11.1 | −0.2 |
| 2013 | 11.3 | 0.0 |
| 2012 | 11.3 | −0.5 |
| 2011 | 11.8 | −0.1 |
| 2010 | 11.9 | −0.4 |
| 2009 | 12.3 | −0.1 |
| 2008 | 12.4 | +0.3 |
| 2007 | 12.1 | +0.1 |
| 2006 | 12.0 | −0.5 |
| 2005 | 12.5 | 0.0 |
| 2004 | 12.5 | −0.4 |
| 2003 | 12.9 | −0.4 |
| 2002 | 13.3 | 0.0 |
| 2001 | 13.3 | −0.1 |
| 2000 | 13.4 | −0.5 |
| 1999 | 13.9 | 0.0 |
| 1998 | 13.9 | −0.2 |
| 1997 | 14.1 | −0.4 |
| 1996 | 14.5 | −0.4 |
| 1995 | 14.9 | −0.6 |
| 1994 | 15.5 | −0.2 |
| 1993 | 15.7 | 0.0 |
| 1992 | 15.7 | −0.3 |
| 1991 | 16.0 | 0.0 |
| 1990 | 16.0 | −0.4 |
| 1989 | 16.4 | −0.4 |
| 1988 | 16.8 | −0.2 |
| 1987 | 17.0 | −0.5 |
| 1986 | 17.5 | −0.5 |
| 1985 | 18.0 | −0.8 |
| 1984 | 18.8 | −1.3 |
| 1983 | 20.1 | — |
Annual · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Union Members
Counties with the highest labor scores
There's no county figure for this measure, so this list uses the labor part of our County Distress Index.
| Rank | County | Score (0–100) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apache County, AZ | 99.2 |
| 2 | Mingo County, WV | 98.7 |
| 3 | Navajo County, AZ | 97.3 |
| 4 | Luna County, NM | 97.2 |
| 5 | McKinley County, NM | 96.8 |
| 6 | Lake County, CA | 96.8 |
| 7 | Clare County, MI | 96.6 |
| 8 | Harlan County, KY | 96.2 |
| 9 | Wyoming County, WV | 96.2 |
| 10 | Pike County, KY | 96.1 |
Questions about the Union Membership Rate
What share of U.S. workers belong to a union?
BLS puts the 2025 union membership rate at 10% of employed wage and salary workers. Self-employed people and people without jobs are not in the count, so it is not a share of all workers or of all Americans.
How has union membership changed?
The 2025 rate was 10%, little changed from 9.9% in 2024.
What is the difference between union members and represented workers?
Union members said yes when asked if they belong to a union or similar employee association on their job. Represented workers also include people who are not members but whose jobs are covered by a union or association contract, so the represented share is always the larger of the two.
When does BLS publish union membership data?
Once a year, in its Union Members news release. Most releases come out in late January for the year before, though some have come out in February.
Sources and method for the Union Membership Rate
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Union Members We use the annual figures as published, from 1983 through 2025, with no adjustment of our own. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’s report (1) U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’s report (2)
We write with assistance from AI tools. Figures come from the data and sources named on this page.