Compensation also Reported

While making no comparisons between federal and private sector pay, the CBO report said that average pay for GS employees as of the end of 2005 was $63,000 and for non-GS white-collar employees—including systems such as the SES—it was $82,000. CBO also said that many employees receive compensation over and above their annual salary increases. In 2005, about: 800,000 employees, or 56 percent of the group studied, received cash awards for individual accomplishments averaging $1,300; 195,000 received time-off awards averaging 26 hours; 111,000 received group incentive awards averaging $700; 49,000 received quality step increases that raised their base pay by an average of $1,800; and 178,000 received promotions that increased their base pay by $4,000 on average.