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Government Tech Workers Earn Less. Is That a Bad Thing?
After decades of outsourcing IT projects, the federal government is now looking to address its skill gaps in tech. The Biden-Harris administration has released plans to expand its “cyber workforce”—a term that refers broadly to jobs involving math, computers, and data.
There’s just one problem: The government can’t seem to afford the experts.
Persistent Wage Disparities Grow
Analysts debate whether workers make more inside or outside of government. Conservative outlets argue that federal workers are overpaid compared to their private-sector counterparts. But for cyber workers, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the opposite trend.
Skilled and experienced tech workers make less in federal jobs. A lot less. At the more senior level, Computer and Information Systems Managers earn about $45,000 more per year working for private-sector companies.
And the pay gap has gotten worse. Adjusting for inflation, the government’s annual wage for its “cyber workforce”, fell by 6% between 2020 and 2022.
A federal initiative promises to correct this trend by increasing the pay for over 100,000 government tech positions. However, the effort faces several barriers. Many agencies don’t have enough funding to support the increases. House Republicans are actively seeking to cut federal pay, not increase It. And even if the raises go through, most federal agencies say they struggle to recruit and retain talent using the government’s graded pay system.
Are Wages Everything?
Facing limitations on wage increases, the White House and federal agencies have sought to attract tech talent in other ways, either by easing hiring processes or implementing special talent programs such as the U.S. Digital Services.
As the world grows more suspicious of Big Tech, the appeal of public service combined with attractive benefits packages should draw more tech workers into government. But questions remain. Will the perks be enough to retain that talent? And will federal leaders stop the pay gap from widening further?
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Between 2008 and 2015, the various islands making up the U.S. territories received half the total media attention of equivalent-size states (4,936 vs. 10,138 articles).
An uptick in coverage of the territories in 2016 and 2017 was largely driven by the Puerto Rican debt crisis and the devastation of Hurricane María in the Caribbean.
North Korea’s 2017 announcement that Guam would be the target of its nuclear missile program also contributed to increased coverage that year.
In 2018 The New York Times reported heavily on the destruction caused by Typhoon Yutu in the Northern Marianas Islands.
The historic election of 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the disparity in coverage between states and territories.
While native residents of the territories are generally U.S. citizens (except in American Samoa where they are U.S. nationals), they do not have the right to vote in general elections. Coverage about COVID-19 levels in different states and counties often excluded the territories.
The Enormous Federal Data Disparity
Federal data collection largely stops short of U.S. territories. Over the next 10 years, the Census Bureau will release approximately 264 key datasets for the 50 states. But for the territories of Guam, the Northern Marianas, American Samoa and the Virgin Islands, the Census Bureau will release only three total datasets over that same period: one decennial count and two economic surveys.
All told, the data collected by the Census Bureau will help direct at least 2.8 trillion dollars annually to 353 federal-assistance programs. While data on the 50 states helps the government direct funding where it’s needed most, a lack of territory data forces officials to operate in the dark.
For its most populous territory, Puerto Rico, federal data collection is a little better. The Census Bureau conducts an annual “Puerto Rican Community Survey” for the region’s 3.2 million residents. But the resulting estimates don’t use the same rigorous control methods as the “American Community Survey.” And data is only available on the county level instead of more specific geographies like zip codes and census tracts.
A Blindfold for Local Officials
Around the turn of the 20th century, the U.S. expanded its colonial influence over seas. Long left to the rule of the U.S. Navy, the nation’s territories were neglected by the government that claimed to rule them. This neglect hampered the development and assessment of the regions’ social programs. In recent years, a lack of federal data has hindered the ability of island territories to respond to disasters like the COVID-19 pandemic and extreme weather.
For example, in 2018, Typhoon Yutu devastated the Northern Mariana’s islands. By 2020, the recovery effort had just gotten underway when the spread of COVID-19 crushed the region’s critical tourism industry. When the federal government asked the region’s department of labor to estimate how many workers lost their jobs during the pandemic, they had no idea.
Speaking to the Honolulu Civil Beat, the head of Northern Mariana’s labor department Vicky Benavente said, “This is one lesson we learned. Data is so critical for justifying our asks to the federal government.”
State governments had ready access to reliable data. They used monthly reports from the Current Population Survey to monitor pandemic-induced rises in unemployment. Working without this data, the Northern Marianas government had to rely on a survey of employers conducted every two years. By 2021, so many businesses had shut their doors that few were left to reply.
About the Data
Data for this article was pulled from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The program provides wage estimates across a variety of occupations and industries for May of each year.
Thumbnail artwork designed by Chloe Phan.
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