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Table 1 Union membership and coverage by selected characteristics

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	Total employees	Union density		Total employees	Union density
	2007			2008
	Total employees	Members	Coverage¹	Total employees	Members	Coverage¹
	'000	%	%	'000	%	%
Both sexes	14,087	29.7	31.8	14,404	29.4	31.5
Men	7,059	29.3	31.7	7,221	28.7	31.1
Women	7,027	30.0	32.0	7,183	30.0	31.9
Sector²
Public	3,257	71.7	75.2	3,443	71.0	74.5
Private	10,830	17.0	18.8	10,962	16.3	17.9
Age
15 to 24	2,418	13.3	15.0	2,464	13.5	15.2
25 to 54	9,911	32.7	35.0	10,032	32.3	34.5
25 to 44	6,592	29.8	32.1	6,614	29.4	31.8
45 to 54	3,319	38.3	40.7	3,418	37.7	39.7
55 and over	1,758	35.1	37.4	1,909	34.6	36.5
Education
Less than Grade 9	323	25.9	27.7	316	24.7	26.0
Some high school	1,490	21.1	22.8	1,502	19.9	21.6
High school graduation	2,874	25.8	27.4	2,877	25.9	27.5
Some postsecondary	1,188	20.9	22.9	1,283	22.1	23.8
Postsecondary certificate or diploma	4,937	33.8	36.2	5,063	33.0	35.3
University degree	3,274	34.1	36.9	3,364	34.3	36.9
Province
Atlantic	945	29.9	31.2	962	29.7	31.2
Newfoundland and Labrador	187	36.6	38.3	193	36.8	39.0
Prince Edward Island	58	29.5	30.7	60	29.6	31.1
Nova Scotia	386	28.9	30.0	390	27.4	28.2
New Brunswick	314	27.1	28.4	319	28.3	30.0
Quebec	3,259	35.8	39.4	3,299	35.5	39.2
Ontario	5,548	26.8	28.5	5,658	26.7	28.2
Prairies	2,516	26.8	28.7	2,592	26.9	28.8
Manitoba	505	35.9	37.7	517	35.1	37.1
Saskatchewan	405	33.4	35.3	415	33.8	35.3
Alberta	1,606	22.3	24.2	1,660	22.7	24.6
British Columbia	1,818	31.0	32.9	1,894	29.8	31.4
Work status
Full-time	11,483	31.2	33.5	11,765	30.9	33.1
Part-time	2,604	22.9	24.6	2,639	22.7	24.3
Industry
Goods-producing	3,209	28.2	30.5	3,214	28.4	30.4
Agriculture	122	3.5	5.1	116	3.5	4.2
Mining, oil and gas	285	20.2	22.1	285	23.7	25.6
Utilities	131	66.7	71.2	151	67.7	70.5
Construction	727	30.6	32.8	802	30.2	32.0
Manufacturing	1,944	27.5	29.7	1,861	26.8	28.8
Service-producing	10,877	30.1	32.2	11,190	29.6	31.8
Trade	2,355	12.9	14.5	2,392	12.2	13.8
Transportation and warehousing	673	41.7	43.8	700	40.6	42.5
Finance, insurance, real estate and leasing	877	9.7	11.2	894	9.0	10.6
Professional, scientific and technical	743	4.3	5.5	811	3.6	4.9
Business, building and other support	519	12.9	14.7	522	13.7	15.3
Education	1,175	67.8	71.5	1,187	68.1	71.7
Health care and social assistance	1,605	53.3	55.5	1,650	52.1	53.8
Information and cultural	642	25.1	26.8	632	24.9	26.9
Accommodation and food	961	7.4	8.3	964	6.7	7.6
Other	488	10.3	12.5	519	8.7	10.7
Public administration	839	67.6	72.6	918	67.9	73.6
Occupation
Management	988	8.3	10.9	1,036	8.3	10.8
Business, finance and administrative	2,700	24.9	27.0	2,840	24.3	26.3
Professional	378	17.2	18.9	395	17.1	18.9
Financial and administrative	685	23.2	25.6	775	22.4	24.6
Clerical	1,637	27.3	29.4	1,670	26.9	28.8
Natural and applied sciences	1,030	23.7	25.8	1,074	22.5	24.8
Health	864	61.4	63.2	882	60.9	63.1
Professional	101	40.2	45.3	89	41.6	47.0
Nursing	266	81.2	82.9	275	77.2	79.1
Technical	229	56.5	58.0	208	56.4	58.5
Support staff	268	53.8	55.0	310	55.1	56.6
Social and public service	1,298	57.7	61.0	1,351	56.7	59.4
Legal, social and religious workers	589	36.8	40.0	640	37.1	39.4
Teachers and professors	710	75.1	78.4	711	74.3	77.4
Secondary and elementary	478	86.8	89.0	480	86.4	88.2
Other	232	50.8	56.6	231	49.0	54.8
Art, culture, recreation and sport	301	23.7	26.1	330	25.8	28.8
Sales and service	3,674	20.0	21.7	3,658	20.1	21.8
Wholesale	381	5.4	6.5	361	4.9	6.0
Retail	1,062	12.3	13.6	1,037	11.6	12.8
Food and beverage	561	7.8	8.6	533	9.1	10.0
Protective services	231	54.9	62.0	245	51.8	59.0
Child care and home support	190	45.6	48.7	185	47.3	49.6
Travel and accommodation	1,250	26.1	27.7	1,297	25.9	27.3
Trades, transport and equipment operators	2,007	36.5	38.8	2,094	35.5	37.5
Contractors and supervisors	111	32.3	34.9	134	28.6	30.6
Construction trades	256	37.7	39.9	274	37.5	39.6
Other trades	793	39.6	41.9	850	36.4	38.6
Transportation equipment operators	511	36.3	38.1	492	37.0	38.6
Helpers and labourers	337	29.8	33.2	343	32.3	34.4
Unique to primary industry	277	14.9	16.9	263	16.7	18.6
Unique to processing, manufacturing and utilities	946	33.9	36.2	876	34.2	36.4
Machine operators and assemblers	751	33.9	36.1	697	34.5	36.8
Labourers	196	33.6	36.5	178	33.0	34.9
Workplace size
Under 20 employees	4,598	13.1	14.7	4,713	12.6	14.2
20 to 99 employees	4,638	30.0	32.3	4,708	30.3	32.4
100 to 500 employees	2,976	41.1	43.8	3,073	39.6	42.0
Over 500 employees	1,874	51.2	53.8	1,910	52.0	54.8
Job tenure
1 to 12 months	3,341	14.9	17.3	3,432	15.9	18.2
Over 1 year to 5 years	4,448	23.1	25.1	4,584	22.8	24.6
Over 5 years to 9 years	2,206	32.9	35.1	2,135	33.4	35.6
Over 9 years to 14 years	1,308	36.6	38.7	1,434	35.3	37.0
Over 14 years	2,784	51.9	54.4	2,819	50.4	52.8
Job status
Permanent	12,310	30.2	32.3	12,728	29.7	31.7
Non-permanent	1,777	25.8	28.5	1,676	26.8	29.6
1. Union members and persons who are not union members but covered by collective agreements (for example, some religious group members). 2. Public-sector employees are those working for government departments or agencies; Crown corporations; or publicly funded schools, hospitals or other institutions. Private-sector employees are all other wage and salary earners. Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, January-to-June averages.