Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Federal Salaries Soaring Above Private Sector

For those fortunate enough to have a job in this tough economy, there's a growing gap in salary between government employees and those who work for private companies.

While many Americans have suffered pay cuts or job losses, one group is bucking the trend: federal workers, CBS News Investigative Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports. A USA Today analysis finds that federal employees have gotten bigger pay and benefit increases than private employees for nine years straight.

"It made me think, man, I should be a federal employee," one woman said on the streets of the capital.

Federal salaries have grown 33 percent faster than inflation. Their pay and benefits averaged $123,049 in 2009, up 36.9 percent since 2000. Private workers averaged $61,051, up just 8.8 percent during the same time.
Read the rest here.

2 comments:

  1. It would be interesting to know which Federal employees they're talking about. My husband, with a bachelor's degree required for his work, has been one for more than 30 years, and even with working extra on fires during the summer, his income is less than half that average. Most Federal employees still get paid significantly less than workers the private sector. Benefits are better, and that's supposed to make up the difference, but the difference doesn't really show up until retirement. And even if he works until he's 70, my husband's retirement will only get a percentage of his current monthly earnings.

    You live in CA; can you imagine living here and raising three children on less than $50K a year?

    There are certainly Federal jobs with bloated salaries. And
    somebody at CBS didn't do enough research.

    Dana Ames
    Ukiah

    ReplyDelete
  2. Banana-republic economics. This doesn't end well.

    ReplyDelete

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