OTTAWA - Union membership among Canadian workers has dropped markedly over the past two decades, with the biggest drops among younger workers, according to a new labour force survey.

In 1981, 38 per cent of Canadians belonged to a union. By 2004, that had dropped to 31 per cent, Statistics Canada said.

The agency said most of that decline took place between 1989 and 1998 and said a "sharp decline" in the commercial sector was largely responsible for the overall drop.

Young men – those 25 to 34 years of age – saw their union ranks slide from 43 per cent to 24 per cent.

"Roughly one-third of the decline in young men's union coverage was due to their growing concentration in industries that typically have low union coverage," Statistics Canada said.

The agency said the drop in union coverage of young men has cost them money. "It accounts for about one-fifth of the 10 per cent drop in hourly wages young men experienced between 1981 and 1998," Statistics Canada said.

Union membership has always been low in industries like consumer services, business services, agriculture, and fishing and trapping. But Statistics Canada said union membership has also dropped significantly in workplaces where unionization has been traditionally higher, like goods-producing industries, manufacturing and distribution.

In forestry and mining, for instance, unionization plunged from 46 per cent in 1981 to slightly more than 26 per cent in 1998. Unionization rates in construction and manufacturing both dropped by 13 percentage points.

The study said union membership has dropped in all provinces since 1981. the smallest declines came in Saskatchewan and Manitoba; British Columbia and New Brunswick reported the biggest drops. In New Brunswick, union membership fell from 29 per cent to 16 per cent.

Statistics Canada singles out one group of employees that has seen an increase in unionization – women aged 45 to 64. The government agency said their unionization rate went from 32 per cent in 1981 to 40 per cent in 2004.

The agency said much of that gain came about because women are increasingly employed in "high-coverage" industries such as public services.