Raises for Other Groups Would Vary

Raises for wage grade employees are set by a different locality pay system but are capped at the GS amount in an area (prior to 2004, they were capped at the GS average figure). Pay rates for employees in several high-level pay systems are linked to increases in executive schedule rates for political appointees, which are set under a different formula, which indicates a 2.8 percent raise for 2009. Raises for employees in the largest high-level category, the SES, are not automatic, however, since the SES is under a pay for performance system.