According to the 2006 AFT Public Employees Compensation Survey, salaries for state-employed professionals registered a modest increase over the previous year yet continue to lag inflation.

The report, the nation’s singular source on state compensation structures and salaries, was released Labor Day and reveals that median salaries across the 45 occupations surveyed increased an average of 2.5 percent from 2005 to 2006.The inflation rate for the same period was 3.4 percent.

This is the third straight year that salary increases failed to keep pace with inflation, indicating a troubling decline in real wages—wages adjusted for inflation.

“Providing high-quality public services is among the best and most cost-effective investments that taxpayers and governments can make,” says AFT president Edward J. McElroy. “These services are the foundation of our communities, making possible the safe streets, clean air and water, economic development and quality healthcare that we all rely on. Public employees are the people behind these services, and they deserve our full support.”

The 2.5 percent average salary increase also was significantly below the increase in total general fund spending, which was estimated at 7.6 percent in fiscal year 2006 by the National Association of State Budget Officers.

A handful of positions registered solid increases, including 11.2 percent for correctional officers, 6.7 percent for librarians, 6.3 percent for chemists and 5.6 percent for nurses.

Nevertheless, the private-public sector pay gap continues to widen. For example, biologists earn an average of $71,718 in the private sector compared with $43,583 in the public sector; and computer systems analysts earn $77,563 in the private sector compared with $55,800 in the public sector.

“If states are going to attract and retain top professionals, they must pay a competitive wage,” says McElroy. “At a minimum, this means paying salaries that keep pace with inflation and trends in the private sector. Unfortunately, states appear to be falling short on both counts.”

The survey reaffirms that unionized workers with collective bargaining do better in the state budget process. In the states with collective bargaining rights for public employees, public sector salaries are generally closer to private sector salaries.

“Collective bargaining can help increase salaries, but it also has other important advantages that help attract and retain talented professionals,” says Steve Porter, director of AFT Public Employees. “Collective bargaining gives public employees a voice to create better and safer working conditions and to improve the public services they provide. For public employees, the ability to have a say on the job is often as important as the salary and benefits.”

The survey, which features data from 50 states and the District of Columbia, has been published annually since 2000. Although it provides salary comparisons across states for particular job titles, it does not account for cost-of-living and other factors.

The 2006 survey can be found on the AFT Web site at www.aft.org.