Labor union membership varies sharply across U.S. industries. In the 2025 annual average, 14.665 million wage and salary workers were union members, representing 10.0% of all U.S. wage and salary workers. The private-sector rate was 5.9%, compared with 32.9% in public-sector industries. These estimates come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Current Population Survey and describe workers in their sole or principal job.
Contents
- Overall private- and public-sector rates
- Natural resources, construction, and manufacturing
- Trade, transportation, and utilities
- Information, finance, and professional services
- Education, health, leisure, and other services
- Federal, state, and local government
Overall private- and public-sector rates
The broadest split in the 2025 data is between private and public employment. Private-sector industries had 124.561 million wage and salary workers, including 7.384 million union members. Their membership rate was 5.9%. Public-sector industries had 22.100 million workers and 7.280 million union members, producing a 32.9% rate. Both figures are 2025 annual-average estimates from BLS Table 3, “Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by occupation and industry, 2024-2025 annual averages.”
The private-sector total includes agriculture and related industries. That group had 1.243 million workers and 19 thousand union members, a 1.6% rate. Nonagricultural private industries had 123.318 million workers, 7.365 million union members, and a 6.0% rate. Across all industries, the BLS estimate was 14.665 million members and a 10.0% rate.
For context, the 2024 annual-average private-sector estimate was 122.684 million workers, with 7.230 million union members and a 5.9% rate, according to the BLS 2024 annual-average table. The 2025 figures should not be treated as a perfectly comparable year-over-year series: BLS notes that October 2025 data were not collected during the federal government shutdown, so the 2025 estimates use an 11-month average. BLS also notes that the 2022 Census industry classification introduced in 2025 affects comparisons with earlier years.
| Sector or industry group | Workers, 2025 | Union members, 2025 | Membership rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private sector | 124.561 million | 7.384 million | 5.9% |
| Nonagricultural private industries | 123.318 million | 7.365 million | 6.0% |
| Public sector | 22.100 million | 7.280 million | 32.9% |
| All wage and salary workers | — | 14.665 million | 10.0% |
Natural resources, construction, and manufacturing
Construction was more unionized than manufacturing in 2025. Construction employed 9.000 million workers, including 995 thousand union members, for an 11.1% membership rate. In 2024, the industry had 8.894 million workers, 916 thousand members, and a 10.3% rate. Both annual averages are reported by BLS in the linked 2025 table and 2024 table.
Manufacturing employed 14.371 million workers in 2025 and had 1.107 million union members. Its membership rate was 7.7%. The 2024 estimate was 14.338 million workers, 1.124 million members, and a 7.8% rate. Within 2025 manufacturing, durable-goods manufacturing accounted for 9.328 million workers and 694 thousand members, a 7.4% rate. Nondurable-goods manufacturing had 5.043 million workers and 413 thousand members, an 8.2% rate.
The 2024 component estimates were 9.213 million durable-goods workers with 713 thousand members and a 7.7% rate, plus 5.125 million nondurable-goods workers with 411 thousand members and an 8.0% rate. These detailed figures come from the BLS industry affiliation tables and 2024 annual averages.
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction had a smaller workforce and a lower 2025 rate than construction or manufacturing. The industry employed 487 thousand workers, including 23 thousand union members, for a 4.7% rate. In 2024, the corresponding estimates were 538 thousand workers, 35 thousand members, and a 6.6% rate.
Trade, transportation, and utilities
Trade had a 4.3% union membership rate in 2025 across wholesale and retail trade. The combined group employed 18.072 million workers and had 780 thousand union members. Wholesale trade alone employed 2.676 million workers and had 157 thousand members, a 5.8% rate. Retail trade employed 15.396 million workers and had 623 thousand members, a 4.0% rate.
The 2024 annual averages were 17.986 million workers and 731 thousand members for wholesale and retail trade, a 4.1% rate. Wholesale trade had 2.955 million workers and 136 thousand members, a 4.6% rate. Retail trade had 15.031 million workers and 596 thousand members, also a 4.0% rate. These figures are from BLS Table 3 and the BLS 2024 table.
Transportation and utilities had substantially higher rates. Together, they employed 7.815 million workers and had 1.119 million union members in 2025, a 14.3% rate. Transportation and warehousing alone employed 6.558 million workers, including 895 thousand members, for a 13.6% rate. Utilities employed 1.257 million workers and had 224 thousand members, a 17.8% rate.
For 2024, transportation and warehousing had 6.387 million workers and 1.006 million members, a 15.8% rate. Utilities had 1.153 million workers and 215 thousand members, an 18.7% rate. The comparison shows why a broad industry group can conceal meaningful differences between retail, transportation, and utilities.
Information, finance, and professional services
Information industries employed 2.376 million workers in 2025 and had 158 thousand union members, a 6.6% rate. The 2024 figures were 2.354 million workers, 156 thousand members, and the same 6.6% rate.
Several information subsectors had different 2025 rates. Publishing except Internet employed 381 thousand workers and had 13 thousand members, a 3.5% rate. Motion pictures and sound recording employed 395 thousand workers and had 44 thousand members, an 11.0% rate. Broadcasting and content providers employed 449 thousand workers and had 24 thousand members, a 5.2% rate. Telecommunications employed 724 thousand workers and had 69 thousand members, a 9.6% rate. These estimates are from the BLS 2025 industry table.
Financial activities had 9.633 million workers but only 147 thousand union members, a 1.5% rate. Finance and insurance together employed 7.453 million workers and had 72 thousand members, a 1.0% rate. Finance alone employed 4.746 million workers and had 40 thousand members, a 0.8% rate, while insurance employed 2.707 million and had 32 thousand members, a 1.2% rate. Real estate and rental and leasing had 2.181 million workers, 74 thousand members, and a 3.4% rate.
Professional and business services employed 17.700 million workers and had 368 thousand members, a 2.1% rate. Professional and technical services accounted for 11.946 million workers and 154 thousand members, a 1.3% rate. Management, administrative, and waste services had 5.755 million workers and 214 thousand members, a 3.7% rate.
Education, health, leisure, and other services
Education and health services formed one of the largest private-sector groups in 2025, with 25.522 million workers and 2.087 million union members. The membership rate was 8.2%. Educational services alone had 5.343 million workers, 717 thousand members, and a 13.4% rate. In 2024, educational services had 5.207 million workers, 689 thousand members, and a 13.2% rate.
Health care and social assistance employed 20.179 million workers and had 1.370 million union members in 2025, a 6.8% rate. The 2024 annual average was 19.670 million workers, 1.337 million members, and the same 6.8% rate. The source for both years is the BLS annual-average industry data.
Leisure and hospitality had 12.211 million workers and 367 thousand union members in 2025, a 3.0% rate. Arts, entertainment, and recreation had 2.402 million workers and 129 thousand members, a 5.4% rate. Accommodation and food services had 9.809 million workers and 238 thousand members, a 2.4% rate. Within that group, accommodation had a 7.6% rate, based on 84 thousand members among 1.117 million workers, while food services and drinking places had 153 thousand members among 8.692 million workers, a 1.8% rate.
In 2024, accommodation and food services had 9.991 million workers and 224 thousand members, a 2.2% rate. Food services and drinking places had 8.836 million workers and 140 thousand members, a 1.6% rate. Other services employed 6.130 million workers in 2025 and had 215 thousand union members, a 3.5% rate. Excluding private households, the group had 5.540 million workers and 209 thousand members, a 3.8% rate.
Federal, state, and local government
Public-sector union membership was highest in local government in 2025. Federal government employed 4.131 million workers and had 1.124 million union members, a 27.2% rate. State government employed 7.783 million workers and had 2.304 million members, a 29.6% rate. Local government employed 10.186 million workers and had 3.853 million members, a 37.8% rate.
BLS also reported 4.213 million local-government workers represented by unions, equal to 41.4% of the 10.186 million local-government workers. Union membership and union representation are different measures: representation includes nonmembers whose jobs are covered by a union or employee-association contract.
For comparison, public-sector industries in 2024 employed 21.838 million workers and had 7.025 million union members, a 32.2% rate, according to the BLS 2024 annual-average table. The 2025 public-sector estimate is from BLS Table 3. The BLS notes that its estimates cover employed wage and salary workers and exclude self-employed workers; the 2025 annual average also excludes October because the October survey data were not collected during the federal government shutdown.