Bureau of Labor Statistics Releases 2014 Figures on Unions; Union Membership Continues to Decline

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The Bureau of Labor Statistics ("BLS") released its annual summary of labor union membership for 2014 on January 23, 2015.  Overall union membership in the U.S. continues to decline.  Some interesting highlights from the BLS information:
  • The total labor union membership rate (public and private sector) was 11.1%, down slightly from 2013.  The BLS reports that about 14.6 million workers were union members in 2014.
  • The union membership rate in the private sector decreased to 6.2%.  The rate for the public sector was much higher, at 35.7%, but was also down from 2013.
  • North Carolina had the lowest union membership rate in the U.S., at just 1.9% (down from 3% in 2013). 
  • South Carolina was the second lowest at 2.2%.
  • New York had the highest membership rate, at 24.6%, followed by Alaska (22.8%) and Hawaii (21.8%).
  • Younger workers have lower union membership rates.  For workers ages 25-34, the rate is 9.5%, as compared to 14.1% for workers ages 55-64.  (And the rates for both groups also declined from 2013.)
The complete report, including tables with state-by-state information, can be found on the BLS website here.

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