Canadian Megatrends, May 2015
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Released: 2015-05-28
Unionization rates falling
Few groups have felt the impact of the changing nature of the labour market as the union movement.
This month's Canadian Megatrends looks at the journey of unions from the industrial base of the late 19th century to the white collar workplaces of today.
Today, a union member is as likely to be female as male and work in an office, school or hospital. The unionization rate fell from 37.6% in 1981 to 28.8% in 2014, with men accounting for the largest portion of the decline. Women, in turn, saw their rate of unionization hold steady at just over 30%.
While the unionization rate for men decreased for every age group, it was especially pronounced in the 25-to-34 and 35-to-44 age groups. A major reason behind this trend was the employment shift from industries and occupations with high unionization rates, such as manufacturing, to industries and occupations with lower rates, such as retail trade.
For women, however, the stability in the unionization rate, especially for older women, may be explained by their concentration in industries with a high unionization rate, such as health care and social assistance, education services and public administration.
The article "Unionization rates falling," part of Canadian Megatrends (Catalogue number11-630-X), is now available from The Daily module of our website.
Contact information
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To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Diane Galarneau (613-854-3018; diane.galarneau@statcan.gc.ca), Labour Statistics Division.
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