How union membership has grown - and shrunk

This article is more than 14 years old

New data shows exactly how many of us are members of trade unions. See how the data has changed
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New figures out today from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills show that trade union membership fell by 165,000 last year. The number of those in employment who are members of a trade union fell by 2.3% to 7.1 million from 2008 to 2009.

The figures come as the unions have returned to the spotlight with the high profile British Airways strikes in March and Royal Mail action last year.

In 2009, 455,000 working days were lost to labour disputes, down from 759,000 the previous year. 204,000 of these days were lost in October, most accounted for by nationwide Royal Mail strikes.

The data shows trade union membership since 1892 and we've added in
Office for National Statistics figures for the number of days lost to labour disputes each year and UK employment since 1984.

Union membership peaked in the late 1970s at over 13 million, and then fell dramatically in the 1980s as Margaret Thatcher took on the trade unions. Membership then stabilised and the figure has remained between seven and eight million since the mid-1990s.

In 2009 23.5% of the UK workforce belonged to a trade union while 46.6% were employed in a workplace where a trade union was present. Figures also show that 61.1% of trade union members worked in the public sector.