More Federal Workers Receive Six Figure Salaries

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

According to government data, federal employees make almost double what private-sector employees make when benefits such as health care and retirement are included ($119,982 vs $59,909). On average, federal employees earned $71,206 per year, compared to $40,331 in the private sector.

Federal employees making salaries of $100,000 or more increased by 5%, from 14% to 19% of civil servants during the recession's first 18 months.  That's before  including overtime pay and bonuses. The number of federal employees making more than $100,000 has more than doubled in less than two years.

There are now more federal employees making more than $100,000 per year than $40,000 per year.
From December 2007 through June 2009, average federal employee salaries increased by 6.6 percent, while average private-sector salaries increased by 3.9 percent. Federal employees at the top of the pay scale received pay increases of 8.6 percent during that period.

The Transportation Department had only one person earning a salary of $170,000 or more when the recession began.  A year and a half later, 1,690 employees had salaries above $170,000.
Source: USA TODAY