According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unions represented 1.16 million construction workers in 2004. That's 15.4 percent of the total industry workforce of 7.55 million, compared to the 1.18 million represented by unions in 2003 (16.7 percent of 7.13 million construction workers). Actual membership in construction trade unions dropped from 16 percent in 2003 to 14.7 percent in 2004, yet it still has a higher-than-average membership rate.