(PAI) - The number of union members nationwide declined by 280,000 in 2002, the Labor Department reported - a drop the AFL-CIO said was caused by continued job losses in factories, the after-effects of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the Bush recession.

The numbers, released in Washington by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, said unions had 16.107 million members last year, down from 16.387 million, a revised figure for 2001.

With the exception of a flat year or two and a slight increase in 1999, union membership numbers have continued to decline over the past several years.

The four most-unionized states in 2002 were New York (25.3 percent), Hawaii (24.4 percent), Alaska (24.3 percent) and Michigan (21.1 percent). Six states accounted for half of all union members: California (2.45 million), New York (1.98 million), Illinois (1.06 million), Michigan (914,000), Ohio (858,000) and Pennsylvania at 847,000.

"Although more than half a million workers formed new unions last year, this gain did not offset post-Sept. 11 losses in traditionally unionized sectors, like airlines, hotels, construction and manufacturing," the AFL-CIO Executive Council said in a Feb. 25 statement from its meeting in Hollywood, Fla.

For all workers, median weekly earnings rose from $595 in 2001 to $609 in 2002, or 2.4 percent. That's slightly better than the inflation rate. The median is the point at which half the workforce earns more each week and the other half earns less. 

But the median for union workers rose 3.2 percent, from $717 in 2001 to $740 in 2002.