The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics has released figures that show union membership in Illinois matched a historic low in 2016. Union membership in Illinois accounted for 14.5% of the wage and salary workers in the state last year. That is down from 15.2% from the previous year and ties the historic low set in 2007.
Union membership in the state was still stronger than the national average of 10.7% in 2016 and 11.1% in 2015. Illinois' average has exceeded national levels since state comparisons began.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics for Illinois go back to 1989. The highest union membership, 21%, was recorded in 1993.
