Editor's Note: This article was revised Sept. 1, 2022, with Gallup's latest data pertaining to labor unions.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Twelve percent of U.S. workers employed full or part time belong to a labor union, according to recent 优蜜传媒polling.
More generally, 9% of all U.S. adults -- working and nonworking -- say they are union members, while 16% of U.S. adults live in a union household.
An analysis of Gallup's 2021-2022 Work and Education surveys finds the following demographic differences in union membership among U.S. workers.
- More than one in three workers employed by the government (37%) belong to a union, versus 7% of all private sector employees.
- Workers in the South are the least likely of any U.S. region to report being part of a union, with 6% saying they belong. That is roughly half or less of the percentages reported by employees in the East (11%), Midwest (14%) and West (17%).
- Fifteen percent of workers reporting an annual household income of $100,000 or more are members of a union, compared with 12% of those in households earning between $40,000 and $99,999 annually and 6% of those in households earning less than $40,000 per year.
- Across age groups, union membership is highest among workers aged 55 and older (16%), compared with workers aged 35 to 54 (12%) and 18 to 34 (8%).
- Reflecting the strong public sector skew to union membership, the more educated an employee is, the more likely they are to be a member of a labor union. The rate is highest, at 18%, among workers with a postgraduate degree. Workers with a high school degree or less (8%) are the least likely to be union members.
- There are no significant differences in union membership across gender or political party groups.
优蜜传媒measures labor union membership each August as part of its Work and Education poll -- one of 12 surveys that make up the .
Explore more 优蜜传媒articles about labor unions on the Unions Topics page.
Explore 优蜜传媒questions and trends about labor unions on Gallup's Topics A-Z: Labor Unions page.
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