United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1994-12-14 monographic deposited born digital GA 1.13:OCE-95-1 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-OCE-95-1 P0b002ee18038d50c f:ce95001 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-OCE-95-1 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-OCE-95-1 OCE-95-1 Wage surveys Compensation Federal employees Demographic data Labor statistics Evaluation methods Statistical methods Non-government enterprises Salary increases Comparative analysis Professional, Administrative, Technical, and Clerical Pay Survey Census Bureau Current Population Survey Other Written Product Although official estimates consistently find that federal pay is low compared with private sector compensation, academic studies have found the opposite. Individuals in both the media and academia have criticized official estimates of the pay gap, arguing that the methodology used to compare pay is defective. They claim that data from sources other than the official surveys, when analyzed using different methodologies, lead to a different conclusion: that federal pay levels are higher than those for employees in the private sector with comparable characteristics, such as education and work experience. GAO examined this contradiction and identified factors that may account for the differing conclusions. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-OCE-95-1/html/GAOREPORTS-OCE-95-1.htm GAO/OCE-95-1 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-OCE-95-1 Other Written Product GAO/OCE-95-1; Federal Personnel: Federal/Private Sector Pay Comparisons; Wage surveys Compensation Federal employees Demographic data Labor statistics Evaluation methods Statistical methods Non-government enterprises Salary increases Comparative analysis Professional, Administrative, Technical, and Clerical Pay Survey Census Bureau Current Population Survey