This is the first of an occasional series of posts about what has happened to trade union membership between 2001 and 2014 in the United Kingdom, using data from the Labour Force Survey. This is part of ongoing research into changing trade union membership which it is hope will be published in the not too distant future. The paper, if published, will contain a much more detailed statistical analysis than will be published in these posts.

In this first post we shall look at what has happened to overall employment of employees at the aggregate level. Then we shall look at what has happened to trade union membership by gender, again at the aggregate level. In later posts will look at the following metrics: age; region; establishment size; employment status; union presence and coverage; and industry.

Between 2001 and 2014 male employees employment increased by just over six percent, from
12.4m to 13.2m. During the same period female employees employment increased by nearly ten percent from 11.8m to 12.9m.

Source: Labour Force Surveys 2001-2014

To calculate the trade union membership we have used the methodology used by the authors of the various issues of the Trade Union Membership Statistical Bulletin, published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) – see: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/trade-union-statistics. We have used the data sets 2001 to 2014 for our analysis, as this has a constant weighting (PWT14) for the series, also it has a consistent set of variables. Prior to 2001 questions on trade union presence and coverage were not asked.

In regards to male trade union membership, during this period the trade union membership for employees declined by just over twenty-one percent from 3.7m to 2.9m. Between 2001 and 2007 it declined by just over eight percent from 3.7m to 3.4m, a decrease of 296,144. Between 2007 and 2014 the membership declined by over fourteen percent from 3.4m to 2.9m, a decrease of 497,040.

Conversely, female trade union membership for employees during this period increased by nearly six percent from 3.4m to 3.5m, an increase of 195,797. Between 2001 and 2007 the membership increased by just over nine percent, from 3.4m to 3.6. Between 2007 and 2014 the membership fell slightly by nearly three percent from 3.7m to 3.5m.
Probably the most sociological and economically important event happened in 2005, when for the first time female trade union membership was greater than male trade union membership. And this continues to be the case today.

In conclusion, despite the growth of female union membership this has failed to stop the overall decline in trade union membership in the UK. Which has declined over all by eight-and-a-half percent from 7.0m to 6.4m. Despite overall employees in employment increasing by nearly eight percent from 24.2m to 26.1m.

It is hoped that the more detailed research, referred to earlier in this post, may help to explain some of the reasons why this decline occurred