Good News For Pay In 2010?

Nothing is guaranteed, of course. There's the budget process. There's the strong possibility that President Obama may go austere when it comes to federal funding next year. But given that what's happening with private-sector employees' salaries seems to influence what kind of federal pay raise the president seems comfortable asking for and what kind of raise lawmakers seem comfortable passing, there could be some good news for federal employees for 2011.

According to World At Work, the 2009/2010 US Compensation Planning Survey Update shows that only 14 percent of private-sector employers plan across-the-board pay freezes for 2010, down from 30 percent in 2009. For employers planning raises, the average raise is expected to be 2.7 percent. Not huge, but given that falling private-sector pay and rising joblesness were cited as reasons for the 2 percent civilian federal pay increase this year, 2011 might be a little brighter for feds.