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Federal Employee Salaries Continue to Be a Hot Topic of Debate
March 8, 2010
As federal deficit spending increases, and the general unemployment rate is at 9.7
percent, the comparisons of pay for federal employees versus workers
in the private sector continue to be a focus of heated debate.
An article last Friday in USA Today reported, "overall, federal workers
earned an average salary of $67,691 in 2008 for occupations that exist both in
government and the private sector, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
The average pay for the same mix of jobs in the private sector was $60,046 in
2008, the most recent data available. "
But groups representing federal employees say that those figures do not take
into consideration many important factors that determine federal pay.
President Colleen Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU)
recently noted that the federal workforce is increasingly comprised of
professional jobs, including large numbers of doctors and nurses, scientists in
virtually every discipline, attorneys, accountants, bank examiners, engineers,
information technology specialists and many others -- nearly all of whom are
paid less as civil servants than their counterparts in the private sector.
An article today on GovExec.com provides other
responses from federal employee groups and analysts who note the federal
job classification system and longevity of federal employees play a role in
determining federal employee salaries.
In February, President Obama proposed a 1.4 percent 2011 federal pay
raise for civilian workers.
For federal employees nearing retirement, salaries are a key factor in
calculating the amount of their CSRS or FERS monthly retirement annuity
payment using the "high three average
salary" computation -- which is the largest annual
rate resulting from averaging an employee's basic pay in effect over any
period of three consecutive years of creditable civilian service.
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Overview - CSRS
