It's long been said that Washington, D.C., is recession proof. It certainly has the robust federal employment listings to prove it.
Impervious to shifting political winds, the big government job machine just keeps lumbering along.
A survey by The Daily Caller found more than 1,000 federal openings this month alone in the D.C. area.
"These include a 'student internship' program at the Federal Housing Finance Agency that pays the equivalent of $48,304 a year; a $155,000-a-year gig at the Peace Corps to ensure the agency is complying with Equal Opportunity Employment standards; and a similar job at the Dept. of Transportation that promises nearly $180,000 a year," The Caller reported.
And it gets sillier.
"The Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs needs someone to run the Facebook page for the Dept. of the Interior and theyll pay up to $115,000 a year. Over at the Dept. of Defense, theyll drop nearly 50k a year for a new mail room clerk, plus the glorious benefits that comes with government work."
The postings are a stunning contrast to the job listings for the state of Florida.
At the My Florida Jobs website, many salary ranges start at $26,445 ... and that's for "management" positions. Worse yet, job seekers have told Sunshine State News that they invariably receive no reply or an oxymoronic "position is not funded" notice after they apply online.
Last year, federal employees raked in an average of $101,628 in total compensation, which includes health care and other benefits, according to the Office of Personnel Management. That's roughly double the private-sector average.
Looking strictly at pay, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Wednesday that personal income in Florida (including government salaries) averaged $39,272 in 2010 versus $71,044 in the District of Columbia.
And the gap is widening. While D.C. is among the nation's biggest annual income gainers in the BEA analysis, Florida ranks near the bottom.
Human-resource analysts point out that many federal jobs generally require more-than-average education and expertise. But even in comparably rated public-sector positions, Uncle Sam tends to be far more generous than state governments or the private sector.
For example, there's no "deputy speechwriter" in Tallahassee making $81,204 -- a position and salary recently offered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
Thanks to federal taxes flowing into the Potomac Basin, the Washington, D.C., area (which includes the suburbs of Northern Virginia) boasts among the highest household incomes and lowest unemployment rates in the nation. Indeed, Washington extended its cash advantage during the recent recession as the Obama administration expanded the federal civilian ranks by some 200,000 jobs.
D.C.'s healthy employment and income numbers are all the more impressive, considering that the metro area encompasses the crime-ridden and poverty-stricken enclaves of the downtown district.
Federal officials say they must keep pay and benefits competitive to attract and retain the best and brightest. Thus, the president's so-called "freeze" on civilian salaries is only mild refrigeration. Federal workers continue to receive annual step increases with longevity and remain eligible for bonuses.
The new Republican majority in the House says it is "studying" the situation and is working on yet another comparison of pay scales.
They will likely confirm what was recently documented in a USA Today investigative report: In more than eight out of 10 occupations, federal employees earn higher average salaries than private-sector workers -- and that doesnt include the governments generous package of benefits.
Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., wants to modestly downsize the federal bureaucracy from the current 1.4 million civilian workers to the 1.2 million of 2008.
"To accomplish this without disrupting critical government services, we should implement a policy of only hiring just one civilian employee for every two that leave government," he said.
Additionally, Rubio says, "we should bring the pay scales back in line with market rates."
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Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
