There were 682,000 New Jersey workers who were dues-paying union members in 2024, representing 16.2% of the total workforce, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
This was a slight increase from 2023 when New Jersey had 679,000 union members that accounted for 16.1% of the workforce, according to the BLS data.
Nationwide, the union membership rate was 9.9%, which was little changed from the prior year. However, the rate still represents a significant decline from 1983, the first year for which there is comparable data, when the nationwide union membership rate was 20.1%.
The states with the highest union membership rates were Hawaii (26.5%), New York (20.6%), Alaska (17.7%), Connecticut (16.5%) and New Jersey (16.2%). The states with the lowest union membership rates were North Carolina (2.4%), South Dakota (2.7%) and South Carolina (2.8%), Arkansas (3.5%), and Utah and Arizona (both 3.7%).
In 2024, the number of employees nationwide who belonged to unions was similar in the public sector (7.0 million) and the private sector (7.2 million).
The number of private-sector union members declined by 184,000 in 2024. The union membership rate declined by 0.1 percentage point to 5.9%. Industries that had the highest unionization rates in 2024 included utilities (18.7%), transportation and warehousing (15.8%) and educational services (13.2%).
In the private sector, industries with the lowest unionization rates in 2024 were finance (0.8%), insurance (1.2%), professional and technical services (1.2%), agriculture (1.4%) and food services and drinking establishments (1.6%).
The public-sector union membership rate, at 32.2%, changed little over the year. The union membership rate continued to be highest in local government (38.2%), which employs many workers in heavily unionized occupations, such as police officers, firefighters, and teachers.
By age, workers ages 45 to 54 had the highest union membership rate in 2024, at 12.6%. Younger workers – those ages 16 to 24 – had the lowest union membership rate, at 4.3%.
Among full-time wage and salary workers, union members had median usual weekly earnings of $1,337 in 2024, while nonunion workers had median usual weekly earnings of $1,138.
The union representation number for 2024 – which includes both dues-paying members and workers who have no union affiliation but are covered by a union contract – was 16 million workers, which was little changed from 2023, the BLS said.
