Do Feds Make Twice What Private Sector Workers Do?

USA Today is back on the issue of how federal employees' pay compares to what workers in the private sector earn, with a piece today based on 2009 data. That data shows, the paper says, the federal-private compensation gap has doubled in the last nine years. Now, on average federal pay and benefits ($123,049) are double what private workers get ($61,051).

Those are provocative figures, but the article strikes me as something of a step backward in terms of analysis. When USA Today last weighed in on the pay gap, back in March, it attempted a job-by-job analysis, to try to counter the argument that comparing federal jobs -- many of which require advanced skill and experience -- to the private sector as a whole, distorted the pay picture. That previous story, which focused on just salaries, not benefits, still found a gap, just a smaller one. Now we're back to what may be an apples-to-oranges comparison.

OPM Director John Berry has asked statisticians from his agency, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and other organizations, such as the Administrative Conference of the United States and National Academy of Public Administration to come up with a new formula for making compensation comparisons.