Labor Union Business Agents

The success of union business agents depends to a great extent on the strength and growth prospects of their particular unions as well as of their industries in general. The best opportunities for employment and advancement exist in those industries that are expected to grow in years to come.

The manufacturing sector of the economy, which traditionally has been very highly unionized, is expected to only grow by 0.8 percent from 2023 through 2033, according to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Growth will be slower-than-the average because of increasingly efficient technologies, automation, and competition from overseas. As a result, there has been a strong shift in the U.S. economy away from manufacturing toward service industries. Such service industries include insurance, banking, legal services, health care, accounting, retailing, information technology, and education. Unions already exist for public workers, such as teachers, police officers, and firefighters. Other opportunities for unionization and business agent employment will arise in health care, representing workers such as physicians, nurses, medical assistants, technicians, and custodians.

According to the DOL, health care and social assistance, private sector (+10.4 percent), information (+7.1 percent), utilities (+6.5 percent), transportation and warehousing (+5.9 percent), leisure and hospitality (+5.0 percent), and construction (+4.7 percent) were expected to experience some of the fastest employment growth from 2023 through 2033, while slower-than-average growth or employment declines were forecast for workers in federal government (+0.2 percent); agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting (+0.8 percent), state and local government (+1.2 percent); mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (no employment change); and retail trade (-2.3 percent). The status of these industries and the industries that support them will likely impact union membership levels.