*IWS Documented News Service*

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Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach****

School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies****

Cornell University****

16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky****

New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau* ***

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Congressional Budget Office (CBO)****

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*Comparing the Compensation of Federal and Private-Sector Employees* [30 January 2012]****

http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=12696****

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or****

http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/126xx/doc12696/01-30-FedPay.pdf****

[full-text, 28 pages]****

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[excerpt]****

*Summary*

How does the compensation of federal civilian employees compare with that of employees in the private sector?****

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Employees of the federal government and the private sector differ in ways that can affect compensation. Federal workers tend to be older, more educated, and more concentrated in professional occupations than private-sector workers.****

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CBO's study compares federal civilian employees and private-sector employees with certain similar observable characteristics (described below). Even among workers with similar observable characteristics, however, employees of the federal government and the private sector may differ in other attributes, such as motivation or effort, that are not easy to measure but that can matter a great deal for individuals' compensation. This analysis focuses on wages, benefits, and total compensation between 2005 and 2010.****

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*Contents*

CBO****

Summary vii****

The Federal Workforce 1****

Size of the Federal Workforce 1****

Agencies and Occupations 2****

Differences Between the Federal and Private-Sector Workforces 2****

CBO’s Approach to Analyzing Compensation for Federal and Private-Sector Workers 5****

Comparison of Wages in the Federal Government and the Private Sector 6****

Average Wages 6****

The Distribution of Wages 8****

Comparison of Benefits in the Federal Government and the Private Sector 8*** *

Comparison of Total Compensation in the Federal Government and the Private Sector 10****

Appendix A: CBO’s Analytic Approach 13****

Appendix B: Wage and Benefit Systems for Federal Employees 15****

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Tables****

S-1. Average Hourly Compensation of Federal Employees Relative to That of Private-Sector Employees, by Level of Educational Attainment ix****

1. Characteristics of the Federal and Private-Sector Workforces 4****

2. Federal and Private-Sector Wages, by Level of Educational Attainment 6*** *

3. Federal and Private-Sector Benefits, by Level of Educational Attainment 10****

4. Federal and Private-Sector Total Compensation, by Level of Educational Attainment 11****

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Figures****

S-1. Average Compensation for Federal and Private-Sector Employees, by Level of Educational Attainment viii****

1. Trends in Government and Private-Sector Employment Since 1980 2****

2. Federal Civilian Employment, by Branch and Department, Fiscal Year 2010 3 ****

3. Differences in Education and Occupations Between the Federal and Private-Sector Workforces 5****

4. Distribution of Federal and Private-Sector Wages, by Level of****

Educational Attainment 9****