Federal Civilian General Schedule (GS)
and Private Sector Employees
1977 - 1996 Average Annual Compensation Increases per Employee
|
Year
|
Change in
Federal Civilian Employee Compensation
Adjustments |
Change in
Average Private Sector Employee Compensation
|
| 1977 |
12.5% |
7.7% |
| 1978 |
6.0% |
8.0% |
| 1979 |
6.8% |
8.9% |
| 1980 |
9.1% |
10.1% |
| 1981 |
11.0% |
9.0% |
| 1982 |
6.9% |
7.4% |
| 1983 |
5.6% |
4.6% |
| 1984 |
3.5% |
4.1% |
| 1985 |
4.0% |
4.0% |
| 1986 |
2.6% |
3.9% |
| 1987 |
3.5% |
3.8% |
| 1988 |
5.4% |
5.3% |
| 1989 |
5.1% |
3.2% |
| 1990 |
4.2% |
5.4% |
| 1991 |
8.4% |
4.2% |
| 1992 |
5.5% |
5.3% |
| 1993 |
7.7% |
3.5% |
| 1994 |
5.6% |
2.9% |
| 1995 |
3.0% |
2.3% |
| 1996 |
5.8% |
2.8% |
| Source: Calculated from National
Income and Product Account data
|
Notes:
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has begun publishing information suggesting that federal civilian pay increases have been less than increases in the private sector (see attached page from The Fact Book on the OPM web page. It indicates that federal pay increases have trailed that of the private sector 18 of the last 21 years.
In fact, the OPM information has considerable potential to mislead. It compares GS Salary Adjustments to the private sector Employment Cost Index --- an invalid comparison. GS Salary adjustments do not reflect the impact of merit increases or promotions and are therefore not a reliable indicator of the average change in employee compensation. Moreoever, the OPM information does not include the employer cost of benefits, which also tends to understate the increase in federal employee compensation.
- Federal civilian compensastion per employee has increased greater than than of private employees
11 of the last 20 years (the National Income and Product Account data for 1997 is not yet available),
- From 1976 to 1996
average federal employee compensation rose 17.,9 percent (inflation adjusted),
nearly 11 times the 1.6 percent increase in private employee compensation.
