Econintersect: Sure to add more fuel to the political debates, a Congressional Budget Office study has now confirmed what most pundits have been claiming – federal salaries are higher than the private sector.
This study has accounted for level of education, years of work experience, occupation, employer’s size, geographic location (region of the country and urban or rural location), and demographic characteristics (age, sex, race, ethnicity, marital status, immigration status, and citizenship).
Overall, the federal government paid 16 percent more in total compensation than it would have if average compensation had been comparable with that in the private sector, after accounting for certain observable characteristics of workers.
The only sector of private industry which paid better than the federal government sector were employees with a professional degree or doctorate. Such federal employees received 18 percent lower total compensation than their private-sector counterparts.
source: CBO
