UPDATE In August, Gallup released its annual survey on unionization. Labor has experienced a huge drop in support since the 2008 survey. For the first time since the survey began in 1936, fewer than half of Americans (48%) approve of labor unions. In August 2008 the approval rate was 59%. At 538, Nate Silver's statistical analysis correlates the support to the rate of unemployment. When unemployment rises, support for unions falls.