According to the latest numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Florida lost 71,000 union jobs in 2009, and now just 5.8% of Floridians belong to unions, compared to 6.4% in 2008.
Private- and public-sector union jobs in Florida fell from 482,000 in 2008 to 411,000 last year.
Nationwide, the down economy has delivered a bigger hit to union jobs than nonunion jobs.
Across the United States, union membership had fallen steadily since World War II, but seemed to bottom out in 2006, when 12% of workers belonged to unions. The unionization rate ticked up to 12.1% in 2007, 12.4% in 2008 and then dipped slightly to 12.3% in 2009.