2010 Pay Raise

The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday passed legislation that would provide federal civilian employees a fiscal 2010 pay increase of 2 percent. The decision comes after the full House approved a 3.4 percent pay increase for members of the military as part of the fiscal 2010 National Defense Authorization Act. It also comes after the House and Senate passed a budget blueprint in support of pay parity among federal civilians and members of the military.

While the proposed civilian pay raise is not on par with the military's at this point, it is still higher than what many private sector IT workers are projected to receive this year. As I reported last month, recent survey results show that more than 35 percent of private sector IT managers believe salaries will hold at the same levels as last year, and 41 percent report that salaries have already dipped slightly. Seventeen percent said salaries are significantly lower than 2008, and just 7 percent report that salaries are higher than last year.