Survey: Civilian employees’ pay growth outpaces that of contractors

An annual survey of Capital-region salaries published Thursday indicates that civil servants on average saw a larger pay increase from 2004 to 2005 than government contractors.

Contractors canvassed by the Professional Services Council, an Arlington, Va., industry group, and the Human Resource Association of the National Capital Area, earned 3.5 percent more in April 2005 than they had the previous year, while federal employees at civilian agencies earned 4.6 percent more. The average civil servant earned 1.3 percent more than the typical contractor in 2005, the survey showed.

But when the salaries were broken down to look at executive positions, contractors earned 36.5 percent more than their counterparts at federal agencies. This difference can be attributed to pay caps on federal salaries, according to the Professional Services Council.

Of 101 job categories, 82 saw a decrease in contractors' salaries from 2004 to 2005 and 19 saw an increase. Those included positions in information technology and other areas where contractors are expected to provide more sophisticated support to government customers, PSC concluded.

The survey was intended to keep abreast of trends in salaries, and PSC is not making any policy conclusions or recommendations based on the results, said Stefanie Starkey, a spokeswoman. This is the 26th annual report on Capital region salaries but it is only the second year that statistics have been collected specifically for government contractors - defined as firms that earn more than half of their revenues from the government.

The data on contractor salaries is based on responses from 92 companies, which reported pay information for 19,910 employees. The responses were voluntary but provide the "most comprehensive" look at compensation available, said Alan Chvotkin, senior vice president for PSC.

The average federal salaries that Chvotkin used for comparison are based on Office of Personnel Management statistics for civilian jobs.

The survey results are not particularly surprising, said Jacque Simon, public policy director for the American Federation of Government Employees. "One of the best things about the government as an employer has been its pay system's recognition that everyone deserves a decent standard of living, and everyone deserves a fair share of the benefits of our nation's increased prosperity," she said.

"AFGE has always said that contracting out is not about saving money, it is about moving money," Simon said. "It moves money out of the paychecks of the rank-and-file employees who actually do the government's work, and hands it over to the well-connected profiteers in executive suites."

Simon added that she questions the objectivity of a survey conducted by a contractor group.