The federal government reported Friday that on average its employees are underpaid by 26.3 percent when compared with similar non-federal jobs, a \u201cpay gap\u201d that increased by about 2 percentage points over the last year while federal salary rates were frozen.<\/p>\n
The Bureau of Labor Statistics presented the figures to the Federal Salary Council, an advisory group of federal agency officials, union representatives and outside pay experts.<\/p>\n
The numbers are calculated for setting pay raises under the locality pay system used for white-collar employees who work under the general schedule pay system. Some of the money provided by Congress for an annual raise is paid across-the-board while the rest is divided according to the pay gaps for 31 city areas plus a catchall \u201crest of the U.S.\u201d for areas outside those metropolitan zones.<\/p>\n
Under a 2010 law, however, federal salary schedules were frozen for 2011 and will be frozen again in 2012, although \u201cwithin-grade\u201d raises that are largely based on longevity still are allowed, as are raises after promotions.<\/p>\n