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News Release Information

22-272-ATL
Friday, February 18, 2022

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (404) 893-4220

Union Members in Alabama — 2021

In 2021, union members accounted for 5.9 percent of wage and salary workers in Alabama, compared with 8.0 percent in 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the union membership rate for the state was at its peak in 1993, when it averaged 14.7 percent, and at its low point in 2021 at 5.9 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 Alabama have been below the U.S. average.


Alabama had 115,000 union members in 2021. In addition to these members, another 18,000 wage and salary workers in Alabama 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.

Table A. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers in Alabama, annual averages, 2011–2021 (numbers in thousands)
YearTotal employedMembers of unions (1)Represented by unions (2)
TotalPercent of employedTotalPercent of employed

2011

1,78117810.019310.8

2012

1,8071669.219010.5

2013

1,89420310.722211.7

2014

1,88720410.822812.1

2015

1,86319010.220411.0

2016

1,8951538.11709.0

2017

1,8691387.41528.1

2018

1,9501809.219610.1

2019

2,0411738.51999.8

2020

1,8961518.01648.7

2021

1,9381155.91336.9

Footnotes:
(1) Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
(2) 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.

Note: Data refer to the sole or principal job of full- and part-time wage and salary workers. All self-employed workers are excluded, both those with incorporated businesses as well as those with unincorporated businesses. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

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.)

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on 2021 Union Members Data

Data on union members for 2020 reflect the impact on the labor market of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it. Comparisons with union membership measures for earlier years, including metrics such as the union membership rate should be interpreted with caution. The overall union membership rate and the rates by many demographic and employment characteristics increased despite declines in the number of union members. These increases reflect the disproportionately large decline in total wage and salary employment (mostly among nonunion workers) compared with the decline in the number of union members. Increases in median weekly earnings reflect the disproportionately large decline in employment in 2020, notably among lower-paid workers, such as those in the leisure and hospitality industry. More information on labor market developments in recent months is available at www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-and-response-on-the-employment-situation-news-release.htm.


Technical Note

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.

Definitions

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.

 Table 1. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by state, 2020–2021 annual averages (numbers in thousands)
State20202021
Total
employed
Members of unions(1)Represented by
unions(2)
Total
employed
Members of unions(1)Represented by
unions(2)
TotalPercent
of
employed
TotalPercent
of
employed
TotalPercent
of
employed
TotalPercent
of
employed

Alabama

1,8961518.01648.71,9381155.91336.9

Alaska

2804917.75519.52934615.85017.2

Arizona

2,9091555.32077.13,1161675.42086.7

Arkansas

1,158554.7695.91,167463.9514.4

California

15,0692,44116.22,65517.615,4972,46815.92,75717.8

Colorado

2,4701827.42028.22,5381656.51927.5

Connecticut

1,53326217.128218.41,52422314.624816.3

Delaware

424419.74410.3435429.74410.2

District of Columbia

343308.6339.5350318.9359.9

Florida

8,1555246.46447.98,6674485.25296.1

Georgia

4,1731944.62716.54,4042114.82565.8

Hawaii

50812023.713025.754112122.413124.1

Idaho

732415.6476.4767364.7425.5

Illinois

5,17873914.378815.25,39775213.981815.2

Indiana

2,8382358.32709.52,8442569.029010.2

Iowa

1,401936.61289.11,428936.51188.3

Kansas

1,2821148.914411.21,3001209.214811.4

Kentucky

1,6941277.51609.41,7401267.21709.8

Louisiana

1,682995.91136.71,722814.7985.7

Maine

5598214.79316.75637012.48314.7

Maryland

2,69035113.138014.12,68929511.033212.3

Massachusetts

2,98235712.038312.83,18140212.643313.6

Michigan

3,97460415.266116.64,04754013.362015.3

Minnesota

2,51539815.842717.02,60841616.044617.1

Mississippi

1,034747.1868.31,080595.5746.9

Missouri

2,5252389.425410.12,6152359.026610.2

Montana

4195012.05413.04384911.25612.9

Nebraska

890859.69410.5896616.8728.0

Nevada

1,20816113.418615.41,24915312.217614.1

New Hampshire

629629.87011.16436510.17311.3

New Jersey

3,71960016.166017.83,76260816.267217.9

New Mexico

743537.1648.6770587.5709.1

New York

7,5521,66122.01,78423.67,7701,72922.21,86924.1

North Carolina

4,1281293.11613.94,2251082.61423.4

North Dakota

338216.2257.4349195.4246.9

Ohio

4,81563713.268614.24,96659612.064713.0

Oklahoma

1,501906.01147.61,546875.61056.8

Oregon

1,69427516.229317.31,78431817.833618.8

Pennsylvania

5,30771713.577514.65,38069312.973213.6

Rhode Island

4558117.88719.14747515.78317.4

South Carolina

2,036592.9773.82,070341.7422.0

South Dakota

385174.3215.5393164.0205.0

Tennessee

2,6781174.41375.12,8201455.21665.9

Texas

11,6075634.96936.012,0574543.85714.7

Utah

1,403513.7755.41,465513.5966.5

Vermont

2653111.83613.82623212.33714.2

Virginia

3,7031644.42015.43,6851764.82406.5

Washington

3,20155717.459618.63,30862919.066120.0

West Virginia

6667110.77511.3693669.67310.5

Wisconsin

2,5922278.726410.22,7052157.92519.3

Wyoming

240187.6229.3234135.7166.9

Footnotes
(1) Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
(2) 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.

Note: Data refer to the sole or principal job of full- and part-time wage and salary workers. All self-employed workers are excluded, both those with incorporated businesses as well as those with unincorporated businesses. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

 

Last Modified Date: Friday, February 18, 2022