LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The federal government says the unionized share of Michigan's workforce has fallen from 17.5 percent to 16.6 percent in the latest year, but the state's rate of union membership remains higher than the nation's.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released unionization data Wednesday for 2012. It says that 629,000 Michigan workers were union members in 2012, compared with 671,000 in 2011.

Michigan's Republican Legislature and governor have approved "right-to-work" legislation banning mandatory union fees for workers covered by collective bargaining agreements.

The nationwide unionization rate was 11.3 percent in 2012, down from 11.8 percent the year before.

State union membership rates ranged from 23.2 percent in New York to 2.9 percent in North Carolina last year.

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Online:

Union membership by state: http://1.usa.gov/YoAjuN

Bureau of Labor Statistics: http://www.bls.gov