Layoffs of public-sector workers combined with political attacks that have undermined their collective-bargaining rights have reduced the overall number of unionized public employees by 118,000.

That loss was more than offset by an increase of 282,000 private-sector union members, so that total union membership in the United States remains steady at 11.3 percent, according to an annual federal report on labor.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics report found that for the first time in five years, there are more union members working for private companies than in government service. But at 35 percent, the rate of union membership in the public sector continues to dwarf that among private-sector workers. Just 6.7 percent of workers at private companies are unionized.

New York continues to have the highest rate of union membership, 24.4 percent, while North Carolina has the lowest rate at just 3 percent.

Time magazine, Jan. 24
AFL-CIO NOW, Jan. 24