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WASHINGTON – Federal employees will receive an average 5.2 percent pay increase next year, the highest raise for the federal workforce in 43 years (see the Office of Personnel Management 2024 pay tables). 

“This is a well-deserved increase for our country’s federal workforce,” said NTEU National President Doreen Greenwald. “The data shows that federal salaries fell further behind the private sector in the last year, so the average 5.2 percent pay hike is a welcome step forward.”  

The Federal Salary Council found that federal employees on average earned 27.54 percent less than private sector workers in similar jobs in this year, a pay gap that grew from 24.09 percent in 2022.  

“This will be the biggest raise that most federal employees have seen in their entire government career and we thank President Biden for supporting the professionals who deliver the public services that Americans depend upon every day,” Greenwald said.  

The raise includes an average 4.7 percent across-the-board raise and an average 0.5 percent increase in locality pay. The 4.7 percent across-the-board raise is called for under the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990 and is based on the annual increase in the Employment Cost Index.     

“About 85 percent of the federal workforce is outside of the Washington D.C. region, which means this pay increase will benefit families and lift economies in every single state,” Greenwald said. “Higher salaries are essential to keeping these skilled workers in the civil service and helping agencies recruit new employees to their valuable public service missions.”  

The average 5.2 percent raise is the highest since an average 9.1 percent raise in 1980 under President Carter.  

NTEU represents employees in 35 federal agencies and offices.