How a 4.1 Percent Raise Would Break Down

If a 4.1 percent raise is enacted, the money for the additional percentage point likely would be designated as locality pay. That would mean raises would vary by locality from 4.87 percent in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose locality to 4.02 percent in the “rest of the U.S.” locality, the catchall locality for areas outside the designated metropolitan zones. It also would mean that fiscal 2002 raises for wage grade employees would be capped at 4.21 percent, which would be the GS average figure for purposes of determining that pay cap. Although wage grade pay operates under a separate locality system, for many years their raises have been capped at the GS average figure. Wage grade employees get their raises at varying times of a fiscal year, depending on their locality.