Report: Slower wage growth for federal workers led to less growth in the cost of benefits because the costs of pensions, paid leave, and legally required benefits are closely tied to wages. Image: Hyejin Kang/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffFederal employees have lost ground to the private sector on both pay and benefits in recent years, says a report for Congress which however also says that federal benefits still are more valuable for all but the most educated workers—and that federal employees at lower levels of education remain ahead in salary, as well.
The report from the Congressional Budget Office said that since one it issued in 2017 on the subject — using data from 2011-2015 — “federal compensation had declined relative to private-sector compensation, primarily because lawmakers enacted across-the-board salary increases for federal employees that were smaller than wage growth in the private sector.”
In terms of salary alone, it said, as of 2022 federal employees with a high school diploma or less had a 17 percent advantage and those with some college a 12 percent advantage. However, for those with a bachelor’s degree, federal employees are at a 10 percent disadvantage, those with a master’s a 17 percent disadvantage and those with a professional degree or doctorate a 29 percent disadvantage.
“Overall, the average wage for federal workers was 10 per cent less than the average wage for similar private-sector workers in 2022. In the earlier period, the average wage for federal workers exceeded the average wage for similar private-sector workers by 3 percent,” said the report.
In terms of benefits alone, it said, federal employees at the lower two educational levels are at 88 and 91 percent advantages, those with bachelor’s degrees and master’s degrees at 44 and 28 percent advantages, while those in the most-educated category are about even with the private sector, with a 1 percent advantage.
“Overall, the cost of federal benefits was 43 percent higher than the cost of benefits for similar workers in the private sector in 2022, CBO estimates, down from 47 percent in the earlier period,” it said. “Changes in wages are largely responsible for the changes in benefits. Slower wage growth for federal workers than for private-sector workers led to less growth in the cost of benefits because the costs of pensions, paid leave, and legally required benefits are closely tied to wages.”
With pay and benefits taken together as “total compensation,” it said, federal employees at the lower two educational levels are at 48 and 38 percent advantages and those with bachelor’s degrees at a 5 percent advantage, but those with master’s degrees at a 4 percent disadvantage and those in the most-educated category are at a 22 percent disadvantage.
In contrast, the total compensation figures from the prior report showed federal employees at the lower two educational levels at 53 and 39 percent advantages, those with a bachelor’s degree and those with a master’s degree at 21 and 5 percent advantages, and those in the most-educated category at an 18 percent disadvantage.
“Overall, the average total compensation for federal workers was 5 percent larger than the average total compensation for similar private-sector workers in 2022, a narrowing from the difference of 17 percent over the 2011–2015 period,” it said.
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