Table 2

Demographics, wages, and benefits of workers in the unionized auto sector, nonunion auto sector, overall auto sector, and all industries

Unionized auto sector Nonunion auto sector Overall auto sector Economywide
Gender
Male 76.4% 73.8% 74.2% 51.8%
Female 23.6% 26.2% 25.8% 48.2%
Race/ethnicity
White, non-Hispanic 62.4% 66.3% 65.6% 61.9%
Black, non-Hispanic 25.5% 14.8% 16.6% 12.5%
Hispanic 7.7% 10.9% 10.4% 17.5%
Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) 3.1% 7.3% 6.6% 7.0%
Other 1.2% 0.8% 0.9% 1.1%
Education
Less than high school 5.3% 6.8% 6.6% 8.1%
High school diploma/GED only 42.3% 36.3% 37.3% 25.9%
Some college 41.5% 28.4% 30.7% 28.2%
Bachelor’s degree 8.1% 19.0% 17.2% 24.1%
Advanced degree 2.8% 9.3% 8.2% 13.7%
Wages for workers with less than a four-year college degree
10th-percentile wage $13.00 $11.62 $11.85 $9.62
Median wage $20.95 $17.95 $18.34 $15.84
90th-percentile wage $33.00 $32.36 $32.64 $32.40
Employer-sponsored benefits
Health insurance coverage 82.4% 73.8% 74.0% 52.8%
Pension coverage 52.9% 47.5% 47.7% 34.0%
Regions
Upper Midwest 74.9% 50.7% 54.8% 18.6%
South 16.4% 32.9% 30.1% 31.2%
California 2.1% 4.9% 4.5% 11.6%
Other 6.6% 11.4% 10.6% 38.5%

Notes: Data are for workers ages 16 and older. Wage data are from 2016–2020 and are adjusted to 2020 dollars. Data on employer-sponsored pension and health insurance coverage are from 2015–2019. The xth-percentile wage is the wage at which x% of wage earners earn less and (100−x)% earn more. Self-employed and self-incorporated workers are excluded. Unionized workers are those covered by a collective bargaining agreement. Upper Midwest states are Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Southern states are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. “Other” are all other states (those not in the Upper Midwest, South, or California region), including the District of Columbia.

Source: EPI analysis of BLS Current Population Survey (CPS) Outgoing Rotation Group (ORG) 2016–2020 pooled data and Current Population Survey (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) 2015–2019 pooled data (EPI 2021).

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