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Union membership grows 3% to 1.75 million, women almost as likely to be members as men

Unions have arrested the slide in membership, with numbers growing by 3% to 1,752,900 last year, while the proportion of the workforce in unions remained steady at 18.9% - the first time it hasn't fallen in 17 years, according to the ABS. But the news for unions isn't all good - despite attracting 20,000 new recruits, private sector density declined from 13.7% to 13.6%, after it failed to keep pace with rapid employment growth.