Dakota Beacon

The update on Monday regarding Public Sector vs. Private Sector Salaries created a lot of feedback andseems to have created a lot of anger.  Local media covered it, and it even got noticed by the PEW Center on the States.

The data the USA Today article used was from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), meaning that according to the metrics used, the data represents the specific issue within the specific framework BLS measures.

There was also a different report late last month from the New York Times showing some slightly different different numbers. 

The New York Times used data from the U.S. Census Bureau showing that North Dakota public employees with college degrees make on average $884 less than the average private sector employees (1.9% lower).  The variation for public employees without a college degree is wider and $2,235 (7.5% lower) than private sector employees.

Why the difference?

The New York Times is using survey results obtained via the U.S. Census Bureau's "American Community Survey" from 2006 to 2008.

USA Today used actual data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics from 2009.

Which Federal Government Agency is right?  Who knows! 

The fact remains that even the -7.5% figure for non-educated public employees is substantially different than The Hay Group's -12% figures - especially considering the fact that public employees have received 5% raises each of the last two years. 

Public employee salaries should track market conditions as much as possible.  The debate should be over whether that is happening, not whether public employees are making too much or too little.