The U.S. Department of Labor Tuesday released new numbers on union membership in Hawaii and it appears the number of members is down.

In 2009, the number of workers belonging to a union was 123,000 in Hawaii, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Union members accounted for 23.5 percent of wage and salary workers, compared with 24.3 percent in 2008.

Ryan Markham with the state Department of Labor said the economy is to blame. The hardest hit, the construction industry and tourism industry, which is heavily unionized.

"When our economy does rebound, you'll see these numbers increase as employment increases, so will the union and non-union jobs," said Markham.

The numbers in the private union sector has been on a downward trend for years.

Leaders of some unions say government is partly to blame.

"A Republican run government who kinda turned a lot of laws that used to help unions, against unions," said Lance Miyake, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1260 Business Manager and Financial Secretary.

But Hawaii has always been a strong union state with membership rates above the national average.

And despite a drop in membership, union leaders say their influence remains relevant.

"The issues that unions push, for the most part resonate with other working families whether they're union or non-union. We're talking about jobs and health care that impact everyone," said Randy Perreira, Hawaii Government Employees Union president.

And politicians will still fight for the union endorsements not only for the volunteer labor that comes with the support, but also the votes.

"Union members do generally exercise that responsibility to vote and I don't necessarily see that changing." said Perreira.

Hawaii's union membership numbers reflect a national trend where the number of workers belonging to a union fell by 771,000 to 15,327,000 in 2009.