Union Membership 2011

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the union membership rate in Connecticut was 16.8% in 2011, up slightly from 16.7% in 2010. The number of workers belonging to a union increased from 258,000 to 259,000 out of a total employed population of 1.54 million.

North Carolina had the lowest union membership rate in 2011 (2.9%), while New York had the highest (24.1%).

Nationally, the union membership rate saw a slight decline, from 11.9% in 2010 to 11.8% last year. However, the number of union members increased slightly, from 14.715 million to 14.764 million. Public-sector workers had a union membership rate (37%) more than five times higher than that of private-sector workers (6.9%).

In 1983, the first year for which comparable union data are available, the union membership rate was 20.1% nationwide, with 17.1 million workers belonging to a union.