Table 2: Union membership and union coverage, 12-months ending October, 2018 to 2023
By broad private sector industry
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Change
2023-2022 2023-2019
Coverage (%)
Agriculture and related industries 2.5% 2.0% 3.2% 3.8% 3.4% −0.4 0.9
Mining 4.2% 6.6% 5.7% 7.5% 5.7% −1.8 1.5
Construction 13.6% 13.4% 13.3% 12.6% 11.9% −0.6 −1.6
Manufacturing 9.6% 9.1% 8.4% 8.6% 9.1% 0.4 −0.5
Durable goods manufacturing 9.7% 9.2% 8.3% 8.8% 9.0% 0.1 −0.7
Nondurable goods manufacturing 9.3% 9.0% 8.5% 8.2% 9.2% 1.0 −0.1
Wholesale and retail trade 4.9% 5.0% 4.9% 4.8% 4.6% −0.2 −0.3
Wholesale trade 5.2% 4.6% 4.4% 3.9% 4.9% 1.1 −0.2
Retail trade 4.8% 5.1% 5.0% 4.9% 4.5% −0.4 −0.3
Transportation and utilities 18.6% 18.9% 16.8% 16.3% 17.3% 1.0 −1.3
Transportation and warehousing 17.7% 18.1% 16.1% 15.6% 16.6% 1.0 −1.1
Utilities 23.3% 22.8% 20.8% 20.7% 21.5% 0.8 −1.8
Information 11.1% 10.3% 11.3% 9.4% 8.3% −1.1 −2.8
Publishing industries (except internet) 3.7% 3.5% 5.9% 5.6% 4.8% −0.8 1.1
Motion picture and sound recording industries 14.9% 13.5% 20.6% 17.0% 14.4% −2.5 −0.5
Broadcasting (except internet) 11.0% 9.3% 10.7% 10.8% 11.3% 0.6 0.3
Telecommunications 15.6% 15.2% 13.7% 10.7% 9.6% −1.1 −6.0
Internet publishing and broadcasting 3.1% 3.2% 0.6% 2.5% 2.8% 0.3 −0.3
Internet service providers and data processing services 0.0% 4.4% 4.6% 2.9% 0.4% −2.5 0.4
Other information services 7.5% 8.2% 7.3% 2.4% 8.2% 5.7 0.7
Financial activities 2.5% 2.7% 3.0% 2.6% 2.3% −0.3 −0.3
Finance 1.7% 1.9% 1.9% 2.0% 1.7% −0.3 0.0
Insurance 1.8% 2.5% 2.4% 1.8% 2.0% 0.2 0.3
Real estate 5.0% 4.6% 6.1% 4.6% 3.5% −1.2 −1.5
Rental and leasing services 4.0% 5.1% 5.2% 3.5% 5.2% 1.7 1.2
Professional and business services 2.9% 3.0% 3.0% 2.8% 3.0% 0.2 0.1
Management, administrative, and waste services 4.5% 4.8% 5.4% 5.0% 4.9% −0.1 0.4
Professional and technical services 2.0% 2.2% 2.0% 1.7% 2.0% 0.3 0.0
Educational and health services 9.2% 9.8% 9.3% 8.9% 9.3% 0.4 0.1
Educational services 13.5% 15.8% 15.2% 14.2% 14.7% 0.5 1.2
Health care and social assistance 8.1% 8.2% 7.8% 7.5% 7.8% 0.3 −0.2
Leisure and hospitality 3.5% 3.0% 2.7% 3.3% 3.2% −0.2 −0.4
Arts, entertainment, and recreation 7.4% 6.4% 5.8% 7.2% 7.0% −0.2 −0.3
Accommodation 7.5% 6.3% 5.8% 7.9% 6.8% −1.0 −0.6
Food services and drinking places 1.8% 1.7% 1.6% 1.7% 1.5% −0.2 −0.3
Other services 3.2% 3.2% 3.5% 3.6% 3.4% −0.2 0.2
Other services, except private households 3.6% 3.6% 3.7% 3.8% 3.7% −0.1 0.1
Private households 0.7% 1.0% 2.3% 1.9% 1.0% −0.9 0.3
Membership (%)
Agriculture and related industries 1.7% 1.4% 2.9% 3.6% 2.8% −0.7 1.2
Mining 3.6% 5.7% 5.7% 6.3% 4.9% −1.4 1.3
Construction 12.8% 12.7% 12.3% 11.8% 11.3% −0.5 −1.5
Manufacturing 8.6% 8.4% 7.6% 7.7% 8.0% 0.3 −0.6
Durable goods manufacturing 8.9% 8.5% 7.5% 7.8% 8.0% 0.2 −0.8
Nondurable goods manufacturing 8.3% 8.2% 7.8% 7.6% 7.9% 0.4 −0.3
Wholesale and retail trade 4.2% 4.5% 4.3% 4.1% 3.9% −0.2 −0.2
Wholesale trade 4.7% 4.1% 3.7% 3.4% 4.4% 1.1 −0.2
Retail trade 4.1% 4.5% 4.4% 4.3% 3.9% −0.4 −0.2
Transportation and utilities 17.2% 17.8% 15.4% 15.3% 16.3% 0.9 −0.9
Transportation and warehousing 16.2% 17.0% 14.7% 14.7% 15.5% 0.9 −0.6
Utilities 22.6% 21.5% 19.4% 19.9% 20.6% 0.7 −2.0
Information 10.3% 9.2% 10.1% 8.7% 7.8% −0.8 −2.5
Publishing industries (except internet) 3.1% 3.3% 4.4% 4.6% 4.0% −0.7 0.9
Motion picture and sound recording industries 13.9% 13.0% 19.3% 16.3% 14.0% −2.3 0.1
Broadcasting (except internet) 10.4% 8.1% 8.8% 10.4% 11.0% 0.6 0.6
Telecommunications 14.5% 13.4% 12.5% 9.9% 9.0% −0.9 −5.6
Internet publishing and broadcasting 3.1% 1.9% 0.6% 1.1% 2.8% 1.6 −0.3
Internet service providers and data processing services 0.0% 2.6% 3.3% 2.9% 0.4% −2.5 0.4
Other information services 5.6% 8.2% 7.3% 1.9% 8.2% 6.3 2.6
Financial activities 1.9% 1.9% 2.3% 1.8% 1.7% −0.1 −0.3
Finance 1.1% 1.1% 1.4% 1.3% 1.2% −0.2 0.0
Insurance 1.3% 1.8% 1.8% 1.1% 1.3% 0.3 0.1
Real estate 4.3% 3.6% 4.9% 3.8% 2.8% −0.9 −1.4
Rental and leasing services 3.6% 4.4% 4.4% 2.9% 4.7% 1.8 1.2
Professional and business services 2.2% 2.2% 2.2% 2.2% 2.3% 0.1 0.1
Management, administrative, and waste services 3.7% 4.0% 4.4% 4.3% 4.1% −0.2 0.5
Professional and technical services 1.4% 1.3% 1.2% 1.2% 1.4% 0.2 0.0
Educational and health services 8.0% 8.3% 8.0% 7.6% 8.1% 0.5 0.1
Educational services 12.1% 13.4% 13.2% 12.1% 12.9% 0.8 0.8
Health care and social assistance 6.9% 7.1% 6.7% 6.4% 6.8% 0.4 −0.1
Leisure and hospitality 3.0% 2.4% 2.2% 2.8% 2.7% −0.1 −0.3
Arts, entertainment, and recreation 6.5% 5.3% 4.9% 6.2% 5.8% −0.4 −0.7
Accommodation 6.8% 5.7% 5.3% 7.3% 6.5% −0.8 −0.3
Food services and drinking places 1.4% 1.2% 1.2% 1.3% 1.3% 0.0 −0.1
Other services 2.7% 2.7% 2.9% 3.1% 2.9% −0.2 0.2
Other services, except private households 3.0% 3.0% 3.0% 3.4% 3.1% −0.3 0.2
Private households 0.6% 1.0% 2.1% 1.1% 1.0% −0.1 0.4
Coverage
Agriculture and related industries 34,000 26,000 42,000 48,000 43,000 −5,000 8,000
Mining 30,000 45,000 32,000 42,000 32,000 −10,000 2,000
Construction 1,124,000 1,055,000 1,078,000 1,083,000 1,061,000 −22,000 −63,000
Manufacturing 1,445,000 1,282,000 1,173,000 1,262,000 1,341,000 79,000 −104,000
Durable goods manufacturing 929,000 816,000 732,000 828,000 855,000 26,000 −75,000
Nondurable goods manufacturing 516,000 466,000 441,000 434,000 486,000 52,000 −30,000
Wholesale and retail trade 891,000 869,000 891,000 850,000 821,000 −29,000 −70,000
Wholesale trade 165,000 145,000 139,000 113,000 143,000 30,000 −22,000
Retail trade 725,000 724,000 752,000 738,000 678,000 −59,000 −47,000
Transportation and utilities 1,242,000 1,222,000 1,155,000 1,232,000 1,331,000 99,000 89,000
Transportation and warehousing 995,000 977,000 944,000 1,028,000 1,096,000 68,000 101,000
Utilities 247,000 245,000 212,000 204,000 235,000 31,000 −12,000
Information 269,000 225,000 257,000 219,000 210,000 −9,000 −59,000
Publishing industries (except internet) 14,000 12,000 20,000 21,000 26,000 5,000 12,000
Motion picture and sound recording industries 60,000 42,000 69,000 70,000 55,000 −15,000 −5,000
Broadcasting (except internet) 55,000 37,000 41,000 35,000 30,000 −4,000 −25,000
Telecommunications 130,000 117,000 116,000 82,000 84,000 2,000 −46,000
Internet publishing and broadcasting 5,000 6,000 1,000 6,000 6,000 0 1,000
Internet service providers and data processing services 0 4,000 5,000 4,000 1,000 −3,000 1,000
Other information services 6,000 6,000 6,000 2,000 9,000 7,000 3,000
Financial activities 232,000 251,000 274,000 237,000 213,000 −24,000 −18,000
Finance 73,000 87,000 84,000 89,000 76,000 −13,000 3,000
Insurance 45,000 62,000 61,000 47,000 53,000 7,000 8,000
Real estate 100,000 87,000 114,000 91,000 67,000 −25,000 −33,000
Rental and leasing services 14,000 15,000 14,000 10,000 18,000 8,000 4,000
Professional and business services 454,000 455,000 461,000 458,000 501,000 42,000 47,000
Management, administrative, and waste services 250,000 231,000 258,000 265,000 271,000 6,000 21,000
Professional and technical services 204,000 224,000 202,000 194,000 230,000 36,000 26,000
Educational and health services 2,173,000 2,200,000 2,122,000 2,097,000 2,256,000 159,000 82,000
Educational services 674,000 719,000 706,000 690,000 764,000 75,000 90,000
Health care and social assistance 1,499,000 1,482,000 1,416,000 1,407,000 1,491,000 84,000 −8,000
Leisure and hospitality 458,000 315,000 289,000 405,000 397,000 −7,000 −61,000
Arts, entertainment, and recreation 184,000 126,000 109,000 167,000 174,000 7,000 −11,000
Accommodation 106,000 62,000 54,000 92,000 88,000 −4,000 −17,000
Food services and drinking places 168,000 127,000 126,000 145,000 135,000 −11,000 −33,000
Other services 197,000 179,000 193,000 211,000 204,000 −7,000 7,000
Other services, except private households 191,000 172,000 179,000 198,000 197,000 −1,000 6,000
Private households 6,000 7,000 14,000 13,000 7,000 −6,000 0
Membership
Agriculture and related industries 23,000 19,000 39,000 45,000 35,000 −10,000 12,000
Mining 26,000 39,000 32,000 35,000 27,000 −8,000 2,000
Construction 1,055,000 997,000 995,000 1,014,000 1,000,000 −14,000 −55,000
Manufacturing 1,305,000 1,181,000 1,068,000 1,131,000 1,181,000 51,000 −124,000
Durable goods manufacturing 847,000 752,000 665,000 731,000 765,000 33,000 −82,000
Nondurable goods manufacturing 459,000 429,000 403,000 400,000 417,000 17,000 −42,000
Wholesale and retail trade 763,000 775,000 785,000 737,000 708,000 −30,000 −56,000
Wholesale trade 149,000 128,000 117,000 98,000 128,000 30,000 −21,000
Retail trade 615,000 647,000 668,000 639,000 579,000 −60,000 −35,000
Transportation and utilities 1,148,000 1,150,000 1,056,000 1,162,000 1,252,000 90,000 103,000
Transportation and warehousing 908,000 919,000 859,000 965,000 1,026,000 61,000 118,000
Utilities 240,000 231,000 197,000 197,000 226,000 29,000 −14,000
Information 249,000 199,000 230,000 201,000 197,000 −4,000 −52,000
Publishing industries (except internet) 12,000 11,000 15,000 17,000 21,000 4,000 10,000
Motion picture and sound recording industries 55,000 41,000 64,000 67,000 53,000 −14,000 −2,000
Broadcasting (except internet) 52,000 32,000 34,000 33,000 30,000 −4,000 −23,000
Telecommunications 121,000 103,000 106,000 76,000 78,000 3,000 −43,000
Internet publishing and broadcasting 5,000 4,000 1,000 3,000 6,000 3,000 1,000
Internet service providers and data processing services 0 2,000 4,000 4,000 1,000 −3,000 1,000
Other information services 4,000 6,000 6,000 2,000 9,000 7,000 4,000
Financial activities 179,000 175,000 209,000 168,000 159,000 −10,000 −20,000
Finance 49,000 49,000 59,000 59,000 54,000 −6,000 5,000
Insurance 32,000 45,000 45,000 27,000 34,000 7,000 2,000
Real estate 86,000 68,000 92,000 74,000 54,000 −19,000 −31,000
Rental and leasing services 12,000 13,000 12,000 9,000 16,000 8,000 4,000
Professional and business services 344,000 330,000 336,000 362,000 391,000 29,000 47,000
Management, administrative, and waste services 203,000 193,000 210,000 229,000 230,000 1,000 27,000
Professional and technical services 141,000 137,000 125,000 132,000 161,000 29,000 20,000
Educational and health services 1,889,000 1,881,000 1,838,000 1,787,000 1,972,000 185,000 83,000
Educational services 602,000 611,000 614,000 585,000 669,000 83,000 66,000
Health care and social assistance 1,287,000 1,270,000 1,224,000 1,202,000 1,303,000 101,000 16,000
Leisure and hospitality 389,000 256,000 240,000 338,000 339,000 1,000 −50,000
Arts, entertainment, and recreation 164,000 105,000 92,000 144,000 143,000 −1,000 −21,000
Accommodation 97,000 57,000 49,000 85,000 84,000 −1,000 −13,000
Food services and drinking places 129,000 95,000 99,000 109,000 111,000 3,000 −17,000
Other services 165,000 150,000 160,000 185,000 173,000 −11,000 9,000
Other services, except private households 159,000 143,000 146,000 177,000 167,000 −10,000 8,000
Private households 5,000 7,000 13,000 8,000 7,000 −1,000 1,000
Total employment
Agriculture and related industries 1,363,000 1,297,000 1,327,000 1,251,000 1,240,000 −11,000 −123,000
Mining 713,000 685,000 560,000 560,000 558,000 −2,000 −155,000
Construction 8,273,000 7,853,000 8,109,000 8,620,000 8,879,000 259,000 606,000
Manufacturing 15,116,000 14,033,000 14,011,000 14,645,000 14,794,000 148,000 −322,000
Durable goods manufacturing 9,567,000 8,832,000 8,848,000 9,361,000 9,526,000 165,000 −41,000
Nondurable goods manufacturing 5,550,000 5,201,000 5,163,000 5,284,000 5,268,000 −16,000 −282,000
Wholesale and retail trade 18,238,000 17,337,000 18,283,000 17,884,000 17,922,000 38,000 −316,000
Wholesale trade 3,192,000 3,124,000 3,144,000 2,897,000 2,888,000 −8,000 −303,000
Retail trade 15,047,000 14,213,000 15,138,000 14,988,000 15,034,000 46,000 −13,000
Transportation and utilities 6,680,000 6,474,000 6,872,000 7,568,000 7,698,000 130,000 1,018,000
Transportation and warehousing 5,620,000 5,401,000 5,857,000 6,579,000 6,603,000 24,000 983,000
Utilities 1,060,000 1,073,000 1,015,000 989,000 1,095,000 106,000 35,000
Information 2,424,000 2,172,000 2,279,000 2,318,000 2,516,000 198,000 92,000
Publishing industries (except internet) 374,000 335,000 331,000 372,000 537,000 165,000 163,000
Motion picture and sound recording industries 399,000 314,000 332,000 411,000 379,000 −32,000 −20,000
Broadcasting (except internet) 502,000 398,000 382,000 320,000 269,000 −52,000 −234,000
Telecommunications 835,000 771,000 847,000 768,000 873,000 105,000 37,000
Internet publishing and broadcasting 146,000 193,000 193,000 234,000 209,000 −26,000 63,000
Internet service providers and data processing services 89,000 92,000 108,000 133,000 144,000 11,000 55,000
Other information services 79,000 70,000 86,000 80,000 106,000 26,000 27,000
Financial activities 9,203,000 9,227,000 9,049,000 9,237,000 9,407,000 170,000 204,000
Finance 4,300,000 4,522,000 4,391,000 4,444,000 4,546,000 102,000 246,000
Insurance 2,547,000 2,528,000 2,512,000 2,540,000 2,598,000 58,000 51,000
Real estate 2,015,000 1,886,000 1,870,000 1,965,000 1,919,000 −46,000 −97,000
Rental and leasing services 341,000 291,000 276,000 289,000 344,000 55,000 3,000
Professional and business services 15,652,000 15,045,000 15,184,000 16,479,000 16,875,000 396,000 1,223,000
Management, administrative, and waste services 5,537,000 4,835,000 4,827,000 5,312,000 5,553,000 241,000 16,000
Professional and technical services 10,116,000 10,209,000 10,357,000 11,167,000 11,322,000 155,000 1,206,000
Educational and health services 23,586,000 22,540,000 22,884,000 23,536,000 24,218,000 682,000 632,000
Educational services 4,993,000 4,553,000 4,633,000 4,840,000 5,189,000 349,000 196,000
Health care and social assistance 18,593,000 17,987,000 18,251,000 18,696,000 19,028,000 333,000 436,000
Leisure and hospitality 13,074,000 10,630,000 10,884,000 12,120,000 12,587,000 467,000 −486,000
Arts, entertainment, and recreation 2,508,000 1,964,000 1,896,000 2,324,000 2,469,000 145,000 −39,000
Accommodation 1,415,000 986,000 926,000 1,170,000 1,293,000 123,000 −122,000
Food services and drinking places 9,151,000 7,680,000 8,063,000 8,627,000 8,826,000 199,000 −325,000
Other services 6,159,000 5,519,000 5,534,000 5,876,000 5,947,000 71,000 −212,000
Other services, except private households 5,334,000 4,798,000 4,904,000 5,218,000 5,303,000 86,000 −30,000
Private households 825,000 720,000 630,000 659,000 644,000 −15,000 −181,000
Sample size
Agriculture and related industries 1,668 1,449 1,472 1,319 1,274
Mining 1,132 1,013 850 770 738
Construction 8,912 7,756 7,838 7,692 7,547
Manufacturing 16,249 13,992 13,761 13,264 12,685
Durable goods manufacturing 10,188 8,790 8,645 8,463 8,098
Nondurable goods manufacturing 6,061 5,202 5,116 4,801 4,587
Wholesale and retail trade 20,032 17,617 18,169 16,560 15,616
Wholesale trade 3,461 3,187 3,159 2,695 2,513
Retail trade 16,571 14,430 15,010 13,865 13,103
Transportation and utilities 7,018 6,358 6,564 6,638 6,455
Transportation and warehousing 5,810 5,190 5,490 5,646 5,387
Utilities 1,208 1,168 1,074 992 1,068
Information 2,546 2,134 2,178 2,068 2,085
Publishing industries (except internet) 426 354 342 346 458
Motion picture and sound recording industries 377 269 281 320 281
Broadcasting (except internet) 520 424 377 307 239
Telecommunications 889 749 826 702 737
Internet publishing and broadcasting 138 175 158 191 153
Internet service providers and data processing services 99 91 101 119 112
Other information services 97 72 93 83 105
Financial activities 9,828 9,146 8,799 8,343 7,990
Finance 4,638 4,475 4,253 4,056 3,883
Insurance 2,718 2,482 2,419 2,281 2,201
Real estate 2,116 1,894 1,842 1,745 1,617
Rental and leasing services 356 295 285 261 289
Professional and business services 16,187 14,520 14,348 14,450 13,923
Management, administrative, and waste services 5,599 4,574 4,473 4,560 4,483
Professional and technical services 10,588 9,946 9,875 9,890 9,440
Educational and health services 26,148 23,454 23,244 21,947 21,306
Educational services 5,419 4,721 4,634 4,443 4,469
Health care and social assistance 20,729 18,733 18,610 17,504 16,837
Leisure and hospitality 13,869 10,401 10,497 10,742 10,433
Arts, entertainment, and recreation 2,716 1,956 1,859 2,074 2,072
Accommodation 1,720 1,115 1,054 1,179 1,222
Food services and drinking places 9,433 7,330 7,584 7,489 7,139
Other services 6,864 5,745 5,551 5,533 5,287
Other services, except private households 6,029 5,030 4,977 4,976 4,746
Private households 835 715 574 557 541
* Many estimates here and in the final published BLS report are subject to substantial sampling error due to small underlying sample sizes.
Note: Workers 16 and older; excludes self-employed and self-incorporated. Changes may not match exactly due to rounding.
Source: Economic Policy Institute. 2020. Current Population Survey Extracts, Version 1.0.45, https://microdata.epi.org.