For feds, more get 6-figure salaries

[audtatious]

The number of federal workers earning six-figure salaries has exploded during the recession, according to a USA TODAY analysis of federal salary data.

Federal employees making salaries of $100,000 or more jumped from 14% to 19% of civil servants during the recession's first 18 months — and that's before overtime pay and bonuses are counted.

Federal workers are enjoying an extraordinary boom time — in pay and hiring — during a recession that has cost 7.3 million jobs in the private sector.

The highest-paid federal employees are doing best of all on salary increases. Defense Department civilian employees earning $150,000 or more increased from 1,868 in December 2007 to 10,100 in June 2009, the most recent figure available.

When the recession started, the Transportation Department had only one person earning a salary of $170,000 or more. Eighteen months later, 1,690 employees had salaries above $170,000.

The trend to six-figure salaries is occurring throughout the federal government, in agencies big and small, high-tech and low-tech. The primary cause: substantial pay raises and new salary rules.

"There's no way to justify this to the American people. It's ridiculous," says Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, a first-term lawmaker who is on the House's federal workforce subcommittee.

Jessica Klement, government affairs director for the Federal Managers Association, says the federal workforce is highly paid because the government employs skilled people such as scientists, physicians and lawyers. She says federal employees make 26% less than private workers for comparable jobs.

USA TODAY analyzed the Office of Personnel Management's database that tracks salaries of more than 2 million federal workers. Excluded from OPM's data: the White House, Congress, the Postal Service, intelligence agencies and uniformed military personnel.

The growth in six-figure salaries has pushed the average federal worker's pay to $71,206, compared with $40,331 in the private sector.

Key reasons for the boom in six-figure salaries:

• Pay hikes. Then-president Bush recommended — and Congress approved — across-the-board raises of 3% in January 2008 and 3.9% in January 2009. President Obama has recommended 2% pay raises in January 2010, the smallest since 1975. Most federal workers also get longevity pay hikes — called steps — that average 1.5% per year.

• New pay system. Congress created a new National Security Pay Scale for the Defense Department to reward merit, in addition to the across-the-board increases. The merit raises, which started in January 2008, were larger than expected and rewarded high-ranking employees. In October, Congress voted to end the new pay scale by 2012.

• Paycaps eased. Many top civil servants are prohibited from making more than an agency's leader. But if Congress lifts the boss' salary, others get raises, too. When the Federal Aviation Administration chief's salary rose, nearly 1,700 employees' had their salaries lifted above $170,000, too.

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Seems the way to make a good living is to be employed by the Gov today. They seem to be the only employer raising everyone's pay. Oh well, it's their money to do with as they wish, right?

[bigbadberry3]

I just have a question. Does this figure take into account any of the workers acquired when the government took over some of the major corporations, e.g. GM?

[audtatious]

Send an email to the guy at USA Today and ask. I doubt it as they are not really Gov employees.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/w...N.htm

[WDRacing]

No matter where you look you're going to find over spending...

This is a drop in the bucket. I have no problem paying people large salaries that are in charge of facilities or programs etc. You don't want someone with no experience and or college education running these area's Matt.

Consider the scope that these federal employee's cover. It's massive.

This has ZERO to do with the recession. Yeah there are tons of people out of work...what does that have to do with what Federal employee's should be paid? Nothing is the answer. Don't even mention out of control spending etc, these outrageous blah blah 6 figure salaries don't even come close to being a factor.

These are educated people that have lots of responsibility. Just because the nation is in a recession doesn't mean you shouldn't pay the people running the country. At Least I know where the money is going...which is a far better thing for me then seeing it go to some POS big business or bank.