In 2021, union members accounted for 14.6 percent of wage and salary workers in Connecticut, compared with 17.1 percent in 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner William J. Sibley noted that the union membership rate for the state was at its peak in 1995, when it averaged 20.2 percent, and at its low point in 2013 at 13.5 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Nationwide, union members accounted for 10.3 percent of employed wage and salary workers in 2021. The rate was down from 10.8 percent in 2020 when the rate increased due to a disproportionately large decline in the total number of nonunion workers compared with the decline in the number of union members. The 2021 unionization rate for the nation was the same as the 2019 rate of 10.3 percent. Since 1989, when state data became available, union membership rates in Connecticut have been above the U.S.

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Members of unions as a percent of employed in the United States and Connecticut, 2011–21

Year	Connecticut	United States
2011	16.8	11.8
2012	14	11.3
2013	13.5	11.3
2014	14.8	11.1
2015	17	11.1
2016	17.5	10.7
2017	16.9	10.7
2018	16	10.5
2019	14.5	10.3
2020	17.1	10.8
2021	14.6	10.3

Connecticut had 223,000 union members in 2021. In addition to these members, another 25,000 wage and salary workers in Connecticut were represented by a union on their main job or covered by an employee association or contract while not union members themselves.

Nationwide, 14.0 million wage and salary workers were union members in 2021 and 1.8 million wage and salary workers were not affiliated with a union but had jobs covered by a union contract. The number of wage and salary workers belonging to unions (14.0 million) was down by 241,000 from 2020.

In 2021, 30 states and the District of Columbia had union membership rates below that of the U.S. average, 10.3 percent, while 20 states had rates above it. (See table 1.) Ten states had union membership rates below 5.0 percent in 2021. South Carolina had the lowest rate (1.7 percent), followed by North Carolina (2.6 percent) and Utah (3.5 percent). Two states had union membership rates over 20.0 percent in 2021: Hawaii (22.4 percent) and New York (22.2 percent). (See chart 2.)

The estimates in this release are obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), which provides 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 eligible households. The union membership 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.

Beginning in January of each year, data reflect revised population controls used in the CPS. Additional information about population controls is available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#pop.

Information about the reliability of data from the CPS and guidance on estimating standard errors is available at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#reliability.

The principal definitions used in this release are described briefly below.

Union members. Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.

Union membership rate. Data refer to the proportion of total wage and salary workers who are union members.

Represented by unions. 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.

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. Union membership and earnings data exclude all self-employed workers, both those with incorporated businesses as well as those with unincorporated businesses.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

  

View Chart Data

Chart 2. Union membership rates by state, 2021 annual averages

State	Rate
Alabama	5.9
Alaska	15.8
Arizona	5.4
Arkansas	3.9
California	15.9
Colorado	6.5
Connecticut	14.6
Delaware	9.7
District of Columbia	8.9
Florida	5.2
Georgia	4.8
Hawaii	22.4
Idaho	4.7
Illinois	13.9
Indiana	9.0
Iowa	6.5
Kansas	9.2
Kentucky	7.2
Louisiana	4.7
Maine	12.4
Maryland	11.0
Massachusetts	12.6
Michigan	13.3
Minnesota	16.0
Mississippi	5.5
Missouri	9.0
Montana	11.2
Nebraska	6.8
Nevada	12.2
New Hampshire	10.1
New Jersey	16.2
New Mexico	7.5
New York	22.2
North Carolina	2.6
North Dakota	5.4
Ohio	12.0
Oklahoma	5.6
Oregon	17.8
Pennsylvania	12.9
Rhode Island	15.7
South Carolina	1.7
South Dakota	4.0
Tennessee	5.2
Texas	3.8
Utah	3.5
Vermont	12.3
Virginia	4.8
Washington	19.0
West Virginia	9.6
Wisconsin	7.9
Wyoming	5.7