Overall trade union density in the UK has now fallen 4.5 %
The rate of union membership for employees in the UK fell slightly in the fourth quarter of 2007.
UK union membership fell by 0.3 percentage points to 28%, down from 28.3 % in 2006.
Trade union density in the UK has now fallen 4.5 percentage points since 1995, according to a National Statistics publication.
Amongst all those in employment in the UK, union density fell from 25.6 % in 2006 to 25.3 % in 2007.
For the sixth consecutive year, a higher proportion of women than men were trade union members.
Northern Ireland had the highest union membership followed by Wales and Scotland. England has the lowest at 26.6 %.
Private sector union density fell by 0.5 percentage points to 16.1 % in 2007, whereas public sector union density rose 0.3 percentage points in 2007 to 59.0 %.
Across all sectors, just under half of UK employees (46.6 %) were in a workplace where a trade union was present.
