Latest Private and Government Employee Compesation Information: USA

US Private Employee Compensation Still
Trails Government Employee Compensation Federal Non-Military Employees Paid 70% More
State & Local Government Employees Paid 10% More

Government Employee Compensation Advantage: 1994
Government Employee Compensation Higher for Similar Jobs
Government Employee Increases Higher: 1980-1994

Government Employee Compensation Advantage: 1994

Latest information from the National Income and Product Accounts of the United States indicates that private (non-government) employees continued to be compensated at rates below those of government employees in 1994.

Private employee compensation (wages, salaries and employer fringe benefits per full-time equivalent employee) was $35,523.
Federal government non-military employee compensation (wages, salaries and employer paid benefits) was $60,478 --- 70.3 percent higher than that of private (non-government) employees.
State and local government employee compensation was $39, 128 ---10.1 percent higher than that of private (non- government) employees.

Government Employee Compensation Higher for Similar Jobs

Previously published research (The Excess Value of Government Employment ) indicated that US government employees receive higher compensation than private (non-government) employees in comparable employment.

Federal non-military employee compensation is estimated at more than 50 percent higher than that of comparable private employees.
State government employee compensation is estimated at 39 percent higher than that of comparable private sector employees.
Local government employee compensation is estimated at 31 percent higher than that of comparable private sector employees.

Government Employee Increases Higher: 1980-1994

Government employee compensation has risen at significantly higher rates than that of private employees.

From 1980 to 1994, private employee (full time equivalent) employee compensation increased from $33,500 annually to $35,500 --- a gain of approximately $2,000 (all figures in 1994$).
During the same time, average state and local government employee compensation rose by from $33,300 to $39,200 --- a gain of $5,900. For each $1.00 in private employee increase, state and local government employees received a $2.89 increase.
From 1980 to 1994, average non-military federal government employee compensatioin rose from $49,500 to $60,500 --- a gain of $11,000. For each $1.00 increase in private employee compensastion, federal non-military employees received a $5.46 increase.