Collective bargaining coverage — Employees with the right to bargain in United States

United States: Collective bargaining coverage — Employees with the right to bargain was 11.1 Percentage of employees in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
11.1 Percentage of employees
Change on year
down 0.9%
World rank
27th
of 29 countries
All-time high
34 Percentage of employees
in 1960
All-time low
11.1 Percentage of employees
in 2024
Years of data
64
1960–2024

Collective bargaining coverage — Employees with the right to bargain in United States, 1960–2024

101520253035196019922024

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage of employees.

Analysis

In 2024, collective bargaining coverage — employees with the right to bargain in United States stood at 11.1 Percentage of employees. That is the lowest value across all 64 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.9% on the previous year and down 9.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, collective bargaining coverage — employees with the right to bargain in United States peaked at 34 Percentage of employees in 1960 and was at its lowest, 11.1 Percentage of employees, in 2024.

That places United States 27th out of 29 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 32.2 Percentage of employees 30.4 Percentage of employees 34 Percentage of employees 10
1970s 27.29 Percentage of employees 25.5 Percentage of employees 30 Percentage of employees 10
1980s 21.29 Percentage of employees 18.6 Percentage of employees 25.5 Percentage of employees 9
1990s 16.83 Percentage of employees 15.3 Percentage of employees 18.2 Percentage of employees 10
2000s 13.96 Percentage of employees 13.1 Percentage of employees 14.9 Percentage of employees 10
2010s 12.28 Percentage of employees 11.6 Percentage of employees 13.1 Percentage of employees 10
2020s 11.46 Percentage of employees 11.1 Percentage of employees 12.1 Percentage of employees 5

Countries ranked near United States

  1. 24 Colombia 15.7 Percentage of employees compare
  2. 25 Japan 15.2 Percentage of employees compare
  3. 26 Greece 13.1 Percentage of employees compare
  4. 28 Costa Rica 10.4 Percentage of employees compare
  5. 29 Mexico 8.2 Percentage of employees compare

See the full ranking of 37 places →

More reference data data for United States

All data for United States →

Frequently asked questions

What is collective bargaining coverage — employees with the right to bargain in United States?
Collective bargaining coverage — employees with the right to bargain in United States was 11.1 Percentage of employees in 2024, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest collective bargaining coverage — employees with the right to bargain recorded in United States?
The highest recorded value was 34 Percentage of employees in 1960.
What is the lowest collective bargaining coverage — employees with the right to bargain recorded in United States?
The lowest recorded value was 11.1 Percentage of employees in 2024.
How does United States rank for collective bargaining coverage — employees with the right to bargain?
United States ranks 27th out of 29 countries with data for 2024.
Is collective bargaining coverage — employees with the right to bargain rising or falling in United States?
Over the last ten years it is down 9.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this United States data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Collective bargaining coverage — Employees with the right to bargain. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Collective bargaining coverage — Employees with the right to bargain in United States. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 20 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/collective-bargaining-coverage-employees-with-the-right-to-bargain/united-states/

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About this data

Indicator
Collective bargaining coverage — Employees with the right to bargain
Unit
Percentage of employees
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
37 places, 1,069 data points, 1960–2024
Last refreshed

The database on Institutional Characteristics of Trade Unions, Wage Setting, State Intervention and Social Pacts (ICTWSS) was developed by Prof. Jelle Visser at the University of Amsterdam. It was first released in May 2007. In its initial form, the ICTWSS database combined data from various sources and projects with a main focus on trade union in EU and OECD countries, collective bargaining and employment relations in Europe, and social pacts. In 2021, the ICTWSS database was rebranded as the OECD/AIAS ICTWSS database to reflect the joint effort by the OECD and AIAS-HSI to ensure the continuation of the database following Prof. Visser’s retirement. The OECD/AIAS ICTWSS database is publicly available at: http://www.oecd.org/employment/ictwss-database.htm