The salaries of state-employed professionals showed sluggish growth for the second straight year, according to the sixth annual AFT Public Employees Compensation Survey.  The median salary increase across the 45 jobs surveyed was just 1.19 percent in 2004-05, significantly below the inflation rate of 3.15 percent for that period.

Press Release
Full Report  (pdf, 624k)

Supporting Tables

Each year, the AFT Public Employees division uses data in the survey to conduct special analyses that provide insight into important salary trends for public sector professionals.  Four of these analyses are summarized in the tables below:

State Employee Salary Growth vs. Inflation Rate:  2002-2005  (pdf, 47k)
Salary Growth Across Occupations: 2002-2005 (pdf, 200k)
State Employee vs. Private Sector Salary Comparisons: 2005  (pdf, 94k)
Collective Bargaining vs. Non-collective Bargaining Salary Comparisons: 2005 (pdf, 441k)

About the Report and AFT Public Employees Division

The AFT Public Employees Compensation Survey is the only national survey of its kind, providing comprehensive information on the compensation of state-employed professionals. Published annually since 2000, the report has become an essential tool for state human resource departments, union leaders, and other labor relations professionals.

The 2005 report compares the salaries and pay practices of state-employed professionals across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Forty-five jobs titles were surveyed, representing a broad array of professional, scientific and related occupations in state government. For each job title, the report presents state-by-state information on minimum and maximum salary, average salary, number of employees, pay plan type, additional cash compensation opportunities, collective bargaining status, and work week hours.

AFT Public Employees is the division of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) that represents federal, state and local government employees. The division represents more than 100,000 government workers across 20 states.  Hundreds of professional job titles—ranging from accountant to chemist to social worker—are included in its ranks.