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Compensation not significantly different ISER study looks at wage, benefits of private, state, municipal workers from 2009-13; generally private pay a bit more, benefits less TIM BRADNER For Petroleum News
A new study by the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Institute of Social and Economic Research finds compensation - salary and benefits - not significantly different between public and private workers.
ISER researchers Mouhcine Guettabi and Matt Berman studied wage and benefits of private and state and municipal workers from 2009 to 2013 in a study done for the state Department of Administration, the state agency primarily responsible for establishing state salary and benefit schedules.
Generally, private employers paid their workers about 8 percent higher on average but benefits were less. However, there were differences in comparing private and public compensation for higher, mid-level and lower-level jobs.
In higher-paying government jobs the total compensation, salary and benefits, was significantly less than in the private sector. However, in mid-level and lower-level job categories the greater benefits of public employers brought total compensation to levels higher, on average, than those offered by private employers.
Researcher Matthew Berman found that public sector workers, both male and female, who left government jobs for private sector employment increased their total compensation substantially.
Women on average increased wages by 18 percent and benefits by 16 percent in total, when benefits were included. Men enjoyed a 20 percent gain in wages and 11 percent increase in total, with the benefits.
Men and women moving from private to state jobs saw both gains and losses, a 3 percent gain for women in total compensation, salary and benefits, and a 2.5 percent loss for men on average, in salary and benefits.
State, local workers 22% of total Researcher Mouhcine Guettabi focused on the overall workforce analysis, which in 2014 included 26,700 state government workers and 37,800 local government employees, for a total of 64,500. State and local workers made up about 22 percent of all Alaska wage and salary workers than year, the ISER report said.
The sample did not include nonresident workers, self-employed or employees of nonprofits.
A few other points in the study:
• In total, women earned 41 percent less than men
• Minority workers earned less than white workers; black employees earned 28 percent less; Alaska Natives 36 percent less; and members of other races, 22 percent less
• Alaskans with high school diplomas earned 48 percent more than those without diplomas; those with at least some college earned 67 percent more than those without a high school diploma; those with four-year degrees 97 percent more; and those with post-graduate degrees 117 percent more
• Older workers earned 14 percent more than younger employees, on average
• Women made up a disproportionate share of government workers, 55 percent in the public sector compared with 43 percent among private employers
• State workers were more highly educated, on average, than municipal workers, with about half holding a four-year degree or better compared with 41 percent of local workers and 21 percent of private employees
• Municipal workers were ethnically more diverse than state or private workers. About 39 percent on local government employees were of races other than white, compared with 30 percent among state and private sector employees.
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