Table 4: Government Size, Union Density, and Unemployment in 1990

G7 Countries

Size of Government  (Percent of GDP)

Union Density (Percent Members/
Labour Force)

Unemploy-
ment Rate (Percent)

United States

36.6

15.6

5.5

Japan

32.3

25.4

2.1

United Kingdom

42.3

39.1

6.9

Canada

47.8

35.8

8.1

Germany

45.1

32.9

6.2

Italy

53.6

38.8

10.3

France

49.9

9.8^a

8.9

^aUnion membership is low in France, but negotiated union agreements are applied to more than 90 percent of the labour force by agreement or by statute. In practice, France is a highly “unionized” country.
Sources: OECD (1994), The OECD Jobs Study: Evidence and Explanations, Paris; J. Gwartney and R. Lawson, Economic Freedom of the World 1997 Annual Report, The Fraser Institute, Vancouver.