United States

After peaking in the 1950s, when 36 percent of American workers were enrolled in unions, union membership at the beginning of the 21st century had fallen to less than 15 percent of U.S. workers, nearly half of them government employees. The transformation in the late 20th century to a service-based economy changed the nature of labour unions. Organizational efforts, once aimed primarily at manufacturing industries, are now focused on service industries. The country’s largest union, the National Education Association (NEA), represents teachers. In 2005 three large labour unions broke their affiliation with the American Federation of Labor–Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the nationwide federation of unions, and formed a new federation, the Change to Win coalition, with the goal of reviving union influence in the labour market. Although the freedom to strike is qualified with provisions requiring cooling-off periods and in some cases compulsory arbitration, major unions are able and sometimes willing to embark on long strikes.

AFL-CIO “Make Wall Street Pay” demonstrationWorkers participating in an AFL-CIO “Make Wall Street Pay” demonstration on March 25, 2010, in Miami, Florida. Joe Raedle—Getty Images News/Thinkstock

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing

Despite the enormous productivity of U.S. agriculture, the combined outputs of agriculture, forestry, and fishing contribute to only a small percentage of GDP. Advances in farm productivity (stemming from mechanization and organizational changes in commercial farming) have enabled a smaller labour force to produce greater quantities than ever before. Improvements in yields have also resulted from the increased use of fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides and from changes in agricultural techniques (such as irrigation). Among the most important crops are corn (maize), soybeans, wheat, cotton, grapes, and potatoes.

Harvesting corn on a farm near Alden, north-central Iowa.Thomas Hovland/Grant Heilman Photography

The United States is the world’s major producer of timber. More than four-fifths of the trees harvested are softwoods such as Douglas fir and southern pine. The major hardwood is oak.

The United States also ranks among the world’s largest producers of edible and nonedible fish products. Fish for human consumption accounts for more than half of the tonnage landed. Shellfish account for less than one-fifth of the annual catch but for nearly half the total value.

Less than one-fiftieth of the GDP comes from mining and quarrying, yet the United States is a leading producer of coal, petroleum, and some metals.

Resources and power

The United States is one of the world’s leading producers of energy. It was long the world’s biggest consumer of energy, until it was passed by China in the early 21st century. It relies on other countries for many energy sources—petroleum products in particular. The country is notable for its efficient use of natural resources, and it excels in transforming its resources into usable products.

Minerals

With major producing fields in Alaska, California, the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana, and Oklahoma, the United States is one of the world’s leading producers of refined petroleum and has important reserves of natural gas. Beginning in the 1990s, horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) of shale gas also grew in importance in states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The United States is also among the world’s coal exporters. Recoverable coal deposits are concentrated largely in the Appalachian Mountains and in Wyoming. Nearly half the bituminous coal is mined in West Virginia and Kentucky, while Pennsylvania produces the country’s only anthracite. Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio also produce coal.

Iron ore is mined predominantly in Minnesota and Michigan. The United States also has important reserves of copper, magnesium, lead, and zinc. Copper production is concentrated in the mountainous western states of Arizona, Utah, Montana, Nevada, and New Mexico. Zinc is mined in Tennessee, Missouri, Idaho, and New York. Lead mining is concentrated in Missouri. Other metals mined in the United States are gold, silver, molybdenum, manganese, tungsten, bauxite, uranium, vanadium, and nickel. Important nonmetallic minerals produced are phosphates, potash, sulfur, stone, and clays.

Biological resources