OVERPAID OR UNDERPAID?
PUBLIC EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION
IN ALASKA
Prepared for
Alaska Department of Administration
Prepared by
Mouhcine Guettabi and Matthew Berman
Institute of Social and Economic Research
University of Alaska Anchorage
3211 Providence Drive
Anchorage, Alaska 99508
July 2016
All ISER publications are solely the work of the individual authors. This report and its findings should be attributed to the authors, not
to ISER, the University of Alaska Anchorage, or the research sponsors.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank Mali Abrahamson and Joshua Warren of the Research and Analysis Section of the Alaska Department
of Labor and Workforce Development for their help with the statistical analysis of employment records. Also,
staff of the Alaska Department of Administration provided help and useful comments.
Linda Leask, ISER’s editor, and Clemencia Merrill, ISER’s graphic artist, prepared an ISER Research Summary
(issued separately and also included in this report) highlighting the findings of the analysis.
About This Report
The Alaska Department of Administration asked us to assess whether state workers are overpaid or underpaid,
compared with their counterparts in private industry. We analyzed the question in two ways, using different data
sources for cash wages but the same assumptions about benefit levels.* Using two sources helped us better answer
the question, and both methods of analysis reached the same broad conclusion: Alaska’s public employees are not
on average paid more than those in private industry.
The Research Summary at the beginning of this report summarizes the findings of both methods of analysis, then
Parts I and II provide detailed discussions.
Part I describes the method of analysis by Mouhcine Guettabi. He compared the pay and total compensation of all
resident wage and salary employees of state and local governments and private businesses, based mainly on data
from the American Community Survey (ACS) for the years 2009-2013.
Part II describes the analysis by Matthew Berman, who looked at pay and total compensation of just the
resident workers who actually changed jobs—from state to private, or private to state—from 2001 through 2014.
Unlike the first method, this assessment did not include local government workers.
*We used national average benefit levels for private and public employees in each occupation, based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics’ 2014 National Compensation Survey. Although exact benefits percentages could be derived for Alaska state government
workers, Alaska-specific figures are not available for private sector employees. Consequently, we determined that it would be best to
use the national averages for private and public sector workers in each occupation.
Research Summary
No. 82
Institute of Social and Economic Research · University of Alaska Anchorage
July 2016
Who Has Better Pay and Benefits—Workers in State Government or Private Industry?
By Mouhcine Guettabi and Matthew Berman
Are state workers better paid than their counterparts in private industry? Workers Who Moved from State to Private Jobs—or Vice-Versa
That question is likely to come up more often, as the state deals with a huge
budget shortfall. The answer is generally no, but there are exceptions.
We analyzed the question in two ways, using different data sources for
cash wages but the same assumptions about benefit levels.1 Using two
sources helped us better answer the question, and each yielded the same
broad conclusion: state workers are not on average paid more.
That’s true, whether we consider just wages, or total compensation—
wages plus benefits. But there are significant differences in pay and total
compensation of public and private workers in individual occupations. We
did this research for the Alaska Department of Administration (see back
page). Below we summarize our findings, and inside report more details.
All Resident Workers in Private and State and Local Jobs
Mouhcine Guettabi compared the pay and total compensation of all
resident wage and salary employees of state and local governments and
private businesses, based mainly on data from the American Community
Survey (ACS) for the years 2009-2013. He found:
• Government workers earned 8% less on average for all occupations.
• But total compensation (wages plus benefits) was not significantly different on average for all public and private workers, because government
benefits were more valuable.
• For occupations in the lower- and mid-ranges of the pay scale, government wages were generally lower—but more valuable benefits made
government compensation equal to or higher than private.
• In higher-paying occupations, both government wages and total compensation were considerably less than private pay and compensation.
Matthew Berman looked at pay and total compensation of the residents
who actually moved from state to private jobs—or vice-versa—from
2001 through 2014. He used data from employment records of the Alaska
Department of Labor and Permanent Fund dividend applications.
This summary reports just his findings about those who changed jobs
but stayed in the same occupations and same communities.2 He found:
• Women earned less than men in all occupations, before and after they
changed jobs, and whether they changed from state to private jobs or
from private to state jobs (Figure 1 and Figure 8, back page).
• Workers who moved from private to state jobs saw smaller paychecks—
on average 7% lower for women and 10% for men.
• But the higher value of state benefits mostly erased the wage differences.
On average, women moving from private to state jobs saw a gain of
about 3% in total compensation and men a loss of 2.5%.
• Workers moving from state to private jobs improved their total compensation, even though their benefits were less valuable—because they gained
so much in wages. Women on average gained 18% in wages and men
20%. Total compensation increased 16% for women and 11% for men.
• The overall pattern of workers seeing higher wages and total compensation when they moved from state to private jobs was true for most individual occupations. Notable exceptions were health-care support and protective-service jobs, where state wages and compensation were higher
for those who had moved from private to state jobs.
Figure 1. Average Annual Wages and Compensation of Workers Before and After They Changed Jobs*
(Among Those Who Changed Jobs and Stayed in the Same Occupations, 2001 to 2014, In Thousands of 2013 Dollars)
Private
State
Workers who left private jobs for state jobs
Wages
Women $42 -7%
$39
Men
$58
$52 -10%
Total compensation
(Wages plus benefits)
$60 +3%
$62
$82
$80 -2.5%
State
Private
Workers who left state jobs for private jobs
Wages
$43
+18%
Women
$51
Men
$64 +20%
$77
Total compensation
(Wages plus benefits)
$63
+16%
$73
$99 +11%
$110
*Based on 4,617 workers who changed jobs and stayed in the same occupation and place. About 15,000 workers changed jobs from 2001-2014, but most changed occupations and some moved.
Source: Evidence from Transitions Between Private Sector and Alaska State Government Employment, author’s calculations, based on data from Alaska Department of Labor
Why Two Methods of Analysis?
Using two data sources to compare public and private compensation
gave us more information than just a single source would have.
The U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, used for one
part of the study, gave us information on the race and education levels of
public and private employees—and as we discuss below, those characteristics are known to affect pay. But census data can’t tell us how some
other characteristics—like skill levels—might affect pay.
Employment records and Permanent Fund dividend applications, used
for another part of the study, don’t include information about race or
education. But they allow us to follow the same person from job to job.
That makes comparisons straightforward, because we know that workers
bring the same characteristics to the new job as they did to the old job.
Compensation of Resident Wage and Salary Employees of
Private Industry and State and Local Governments, 2009-2013
• Local government workers were more diverse than private or state
workers—about 39% were of races other than white, compared with
around 30% among private and state workers.
• State government workers were on average better educated. More than
half held at least four-year degrees, compared with about 41% among
local government workers and 21% among private workers.
Figure 2. Composition of Workers in ACS Survey
(2009-2013)
22%
State/ local
government
13% Federal 54%
Private
government industry*
11%
Non-profits*
Mouhcine Guettabi’s analysis is based mainly on data from the U.S.
Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (average 2009 - 2013). It
*Includes wage and salary workers and self-employed
compares the pay and total compensation (wages plus benefits) of resiWhich Workers Are Included in the Analysis?
dent wage and salary workers employed by state and local governments
• State and local government workers
and private businesses. It does not include non-resident workers, em• Private wage and salary workers
ployees of the federal government or non-profits, or the self-employed.
Source: A Wage and Compensation Analysis of Alaska’s Public Sector Employees,
author’s calculations, with data from American Community Survey, 2009-2013
In 2014, there were about 26,700 state government employees and
37,800 local government employees, for a total
Figure 3. How Do Specific Characteristics of Alaska Workers Affect Their Pay?
of 64,500. Figure 2 shows that on average from
(All Alaska Resident Wage and Salary Workers)
2009-2013, state and local government workers
Education
made up about 22% of workers in the American
117%
Compared with workers who didn’t
Community Survey.
finish high school, all those with more
95%
Characteristics of Workers
education are paid more
67%
Age
Older workers on
To compare public/private compensation, the
Gender and Race
48%
average earn more
Women
are
paid
Workers
of
all
other
races
are
analysis controls for characteristics known to
41% less than men paid less than white workers
14%
affect pay: gender, race, education, and experi4-year
High-school Some
Post-22%
ence. Figure 3 shows how those influenced pay
-28%
-41%
degree graduate
-36% Other race
college
of all resident Alaska wage and salary workers
Black
AK Native
(including those with jobs in government and in Source: A Wage and Compensation Analysis of Alaska’s Public Sector Employees, author’s calculations, data from American Community Survey, 2009-13
private industry) during the period 2009-2013.
• Women earned on average 41% less than men.
Figure 4. Characteristics of Resident Workers in Private Firms
• Workers from minorities earned less than white workers—Black
and State And Local Governments in Alaska
workers 28% less, Alaska Natives 36% less, and workers of other
(Average 2009-2013)
Private
races 22% less.
39 years
• Compared with workers who didn’t finish high school, AlasBy Age
Local Government
44 years
(Average age)
kans with high-school degrees earned 48% more, those with
44 years
at least some college 67% more, those with four-year degrees
43%
95% more, and those with post-graduate degrees 117% more.
By Gender
55%
(Percent women)
• Older workers earned on average 14% more than those with
56%
less experience.
By Diversity
30%
Figure 4 shows how characteristics differed among public
(Percent Races
29%
and private workers during the analysis period.
other than white)
39%
• State and local government workers were on average five
21%
By Education
years older than those in private industry—44 years old, com54%
(Percent with 4 or
41%
pared with 39.
more years of college)
• Women made up a considerably larger share of public workers
Source: A Wage and Compensation Analysis of Alaska’s Public Sector Employees, author’s calculations,
with data from American Community Survey, 2009-2013
—55%, compared with 43% among private workers.
2
How Did Public and Private Pay Compare?
Figure 5 shows how pay and total compensation—adjusted for characteristics of workers—compared among state and local government
workers and private workers overall, and among workers in specific
occupations, in the period 2009-2013.
• Government workers on average earned 8% less than private workers.
But because government benefits were more valuable, there was no
significant difference in total compensation (wages plus benefits)
among government and private workers overall.
• For a number of occupation in the lower- and mid-ranges of the pay
scale, government wages were lower than or about the same as in
private industry. But government benefits were typically more valuable, so total compensation for those occupations was equal to or more
than in private industry.
• Health-care support jobs didn’t fit that general pattern: both wages
and total compensation were significantly higher among government
workers.
• In higher-paying occupations—for example, physical and social
sciences and management—both wages and total compensation were
considerably lower among government workers.
Figure 5. How Does Pay of State and Local Government Workers Compare With Pay in Private Industry?
(All resident wage and salary workers in private industry and state and local government, average 2009-2013)
Wages
Total compensation (wages plus benefits)
On average for all occupations, government workers earn 8% less. But the higher average value
of government benefits means there is no significant difference in total compensation.
-8%
No significant difference in total compensation
In many lower- and mid-pay occupations, government wages are lower,
but the higher value of benefits makes government compensation equal to or higher than private.
Personal care/service
wages much lower -49%
in government
But no significant difference in total compensation
Installation and repair wages lower in government -21%
But no significant difference in total compensation
Building and grounds maintenance wages not significantly
different in government and private
But total government
+49% compensation higher
Office and admin wages not significantly different in
government and private
Health-care support jobs are exceptions
+16% But total government compensation somewhat higher
Both government wages and total compensation much higher
+52%
+78%
In higher-paying occupations, both government pay and total compensation
are considerably less than private pay and compensation.
Life, physical, social sciences
-39%
-36%
Management
-33%
-29%
Source: A Wage and Compensation Analysis of Alaska’s Public Sector Employees, author’s calculations, with data from American Community Survey, 2009-2013
3
Compensation of Workers Who Changed from Private to State
Jobs—and Vice-Versa, 2001-2014
In his analysis, Matthew Berman compared compensation for workers
who actually changed from state to private jobs—or private to state
jobs—from 2001 through 2014. Unlike the analysis we just described,
this assessment doesn’t need to be adjusted for characteristics of workers:
it’s based on data for specific Alaskans who changed jobs, and compares
what they were paid before and after their job changes.
The assessment uses data—with confidential information about
individual Alaskans removed—that the Alaska Department of Labor
provided, from its own employment records and from Permanent Fund
dividend applications.
Who Changed Jobs?
About 15,000 Alaskans changed either from private to state jobs or
state to private jobs from 2001 to 2014. Many of those workers changed
occupations when they changed jobs, and some moved to different places.
About 4,600 changed jobs and stayed in the same occupations and
places, and figures 6 and 7 profile those workers.
• Workers were much more likely to move from private to state jobs,
accounting for about two-thirds of those who changed jobs.
• Women were far more likely than men to change jobs—whether
they moved from private to state jobs or state to private. Women
made up 66% of all those who changed jobs.
Figure 7 shows details about the occupations of these workers.
• Office and administrative support jobs were by far the most common occupations among women who changed jobs—whether from
private to state or vice-versa. More than half the women who moved
from state to private jobs, and nearly two-thirds of those who moved
from private to state jobs, were in office and administrative support.
• Jobs related to health care—practitioners, technicians, or support—were the next most common occupations among women
who changed jobs, in either direction. They accounted for 16% of
women who left state jobs and 12% who moved to state jobs.
• More than one-quarter of men shifting from state to private jobs,
or private to state, were in construction, repair, installation, or transport
occupations.
• Men in higher-paying occupations—including management, architecture and engineering, and legal—were more likely to move from state
to private jobs.
• Occupations in the lower- and mid-ranges of the pay scale—including
administrative support and protective services—were more likely to
draw men from private to state jobs.
4
Figure 6. Who Changed Jobs, 2001-2014?
(Among Those Who Changed Jobs and Stayed in Same Occupation and Place*)
Workers who left
state jobs for
private jobs:
31%
Men
11%
Women
46%
Women
20%
Workers who left
private jobs for
state jobs: 69%
Men
23%
*Based on 4,617 workers who changed jobs and stayed in the same occupation and place. About 15,000
workers changed jobs from 2001-2014, but most changed occupations and some moved.
Source: Evidence from Transitions Between Private Sector and Alaska State Government Employment, author’s
calculations, based on data from Alaska Department of Labor and Permanent Fund dividend applications
Figure 7. Occupations of Workers Who Changed Jobs, 2001 - 2014
(Among Workers Who Changed Jobs and Stayed in the Same Occupation and Place*)
Moved from state to private jobs
Women (Total: 911)
Management
All other
5%
8.5%
All other
5.5% 1.5% Architecture/Engineering
Life/Physical/Social Sciences
4%
6.5%
53%
Office/Admin Support
Men (Total: 522)
Business/Financial/Computer
5.5%
Install/repair/produce/transport
Management
8%
16%
Business/Financial/Computer
12%
Legal
9.5% Health-care practitioners /technical
Construction
5.5% Health-care support
0.5% Protective service
12%
9%
Architecture/Engineering
4%
Life/Physical/Social Sciences
10%
Office/Admin Support
0.5% Building/grounds maintenance
10%
7%
4.5%
Legal
Building/grounds maintenance 1.5%
Health-care practitioners /technical
Protective service
1% Health-care support
Moved from private to state jobs
Women (Total: 2,108)
Men (Total 1,050)
Business/Financial/Computer
Management
Architecture/Engineering
All other
1%
2%Life/Physical/Social Sciences
5% 3% 3%
Install/repair/produce/transport
Community/Social services
6.5%
Legal
18%
3%
Health-care practitioners /technical
8%
64%
Office/Admin Support
4% Health-care support
0.5%
Building/grounds maintenance
All other Management
Business/Financial/Computer
6% 4%
10.5%
7.5%
Construction 14%
16.5%
Office/Admin Support
Architecture/Engineering
3% Life/Physical/Social Sciences
4% Community/Social services
4% Legal
3%
Health-care practitioners /technical
6%
1.5% Health-care support
Protective service
2% Building/grounds/maintenance
*Based on 4,617 workers who changed jobs and stayed in the same occupation and place, excluding those where the number of transitions was fewer than 4, to avoid disclosing confidential information.
Overall, about 15,000 workers changed jobs from 2001-2014, but most changed occupations and some moved.
Source: Evidence from Transitions Between Private Sector and Alaska State Government Employment, author’s calculations, based on data from Alaska Department of Labor
5
Figure 8. Average Annual Wages and Compensation of Workers Before and After Job Changes, Selected Occupations*
(Among Those Who Changed Jobs and Stayed in the Same Occupations, 2001 to 2014, In Thousands of 2013 Dollars)
Private
State
Workers Who Left Private Jobs for State Jobs
Wages
Total compensation
(Wages plus benefits)
Management
$79
Women
$67 -15%
$86 -12%
Men
$76
$115
$99 -14%
(No significant difference
in private/public compensation)
Life/Physical/Social Sciences
$84
$59
Women
$49 -17%
$73 -13%
(No significant difference
$64
Men
in private/public compensation)
$56 -12%
Legal Occupations
$76
Women
$66 -13%
Men
$95
$74 -22%
$109
$97 -11%
$135
$109 -19%
Health-Care Support
Women (No significant difference
in private/public wages)
Men $30 +37%
$41
$50
$61 +22%
$40 +77%
$71
Office and Administrative Support
$35
$51 +6%
Women $32
-8%
$54
(No significant difference
$36
Men
in private/public compensation)
$33 -8%
State
Private
Workers Who Left State Jobs for Private Jobs
Wages
Total compensation
(Wages plus benefits)
Architecture and Engineering
$56 +37%
Women
$77
$76 +25%
Men
$95
Life/Physical/Social Sciences
$50 +44%
$72
+21%
$68
Men
$82
Women
$83 +32%
$110
$113 +19
$135
+39%
$103
$100 +17%
$117
$74
Protective Services
$83
Women (No significant difference
$51 -39%
in public/private wages)
Men
$74
$129
-26%
$73 -43%
$55
Building/Grounds Maintenance
$54
Women (No significant difference
$33 -39%
in public/private wages)
$58
Men (No significant difference
$37 -36%
in public/private wages)
Office and Administrative Support
$35 +14%
(No significant difference
Women
$40
in public/private compensation)
+24%
(No significant difference
$37
Men
in public/private compensation)
$46
*Based on 4,617 workers who changed jobs and stayed in the same occupation and place. About 15,000 workers changed jobs from 2001-2014, but most changed occupations and some moved.
Source: Evidence from Transitions Between Private Sector and Alaska State Government Employment, author’s calculations, based on data from Alaska Department of Labor
Pay and Compensation in Individual Occupations
Figure 1 (front page) shows average changes in pay and compensation for
workers who moved from public to private jobs—or private to public—in
the analysis period. Figure 8 shows changes in some occupations.
• In any given occupation, women who changed jobs earned less than
men in the same occupation, before and after they changed jobs. That
includes office and administrative support jobs, where a big share of the
women who changed jobs were concentrated—although the gap was
smaller than in other occupations.
• The overall pattern of lower pay for workers (men and women) moving
to state jobs—and higher pay for those moving to private jobs—held
for most individual occupations. Exceptions are health-care support jobs,
where those moving to state jobs were better compensated, and protective services, where those moving to private jobs lost pay and had
reduced total compensation.
About the Study
The study summarized here, Overpaid or Underpaid? Public Employee
Compensation in the State of Alaska, was prepared for the Alaska Department of Administration. It is in two sections: I. A Wage and Compensation
Analysis of Alaska’s Public Sector Workers, by Mouhcine Guettabi, and II.
Evidence from Transitions Between Private Sector and Alaska State Government Employment, by Matthew Berman. The study is available on
ISER’s website, www.iser.uaa.alaska.edu.
Mouhcine Guettabi is an assistant professor of economics at ISER. If you
have questions about his analysis, get in touch with him at 907-786-5496
or [email protected].
Matthew Berman is a professor of economics at ISER. If you have
questions about his analysis, get in touch with him at 907-786-5426 or
[email protected].
Endnotes
1. We used national average benefit levels for private and public employees in each
occupation, because figures specifically for Alaska’s private sector aren’t available.
2. Figures reported here are based on just the 4,617 workers who changed jobs and
stayed in the same occupation and same place. Roughly 15,000 workers changed
jobs—from private to state or vice-versa—from 2001 through 2014. Many of those
changed occupations, and some moved to different places. The full study (see adjacent
box) includes information on changes in pay and compensation for those workers.
6
www.iser.uaa.alaska.edu
Editor: Linda Leask • Graphics: Clemencia Merrill
Part I. A Wage and Compensation Analysis of
Alaska’s Public Sector Employees
By
Mouhcine Guettabi
All ISER research is solely the work of the individual authors. The findings should
be attributed to the authors, not to ISER, the University of Alaska Anchorage, or
the sponsors of the research.
For more information about this section of the report, please contact: Mouhcine
Guettabi, assistant professor of economics.
E-mail: mguettabi@alaska,edu • Phone: 907-786-5496
Executive Summary, Part I.
Given the importance of the public sector in Alaska, it is paramount to understand how resources are allocated and if
the compensation of government employees is appropriate. Levels of compensation help assess both the competence
and the efficiency of governmental services. On the one hand, overpayment wastes resources, restricting the
government’s opportunity to address other objectives or to reduce the burden on taxpayers. On the other hand,
insufficient pay makes it very difficult to recruit and retain qualified workers who can provide the quality services
demanded by citizens.
The data analysis in this section of the report indicates that in general public employees, including both state and
local government workers, are not overpaid compared with their counterparts in private industry. Comparability
with pay in the private sector is the most generally accepted standard by which economists and compensation
specialists judge whether the processes for determining compensation in the public sector are working.
In this report we define “compensation” to include both wages and salaries and the value of benefits. Comparisons
controlling for the effects of education, experience, gender, race, and ethnicity on compensation reveal no significant
overpayment among public sector workers. There is, however, considerable variation across occupations, with some
public sector jobs paying more than the private sector and others less.
In this section of the report, we use publicly available data primarily from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American
Community Survey, but also from the Alaska Department of Labor and the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. We
rely on established methodology, used by researchers since the 1970s, to compare earnings and benefits across and
between the private and the public sectors, with the public sector including both state and local government
employees.
The analysis finds that:
Ÿ The public and private workforces in Alaska differ in important ways. Employees in state and local sectors are
twice as likely as their private sector counterparts to have a college or advanced degree. They are also older,
more diverse, and more likely to be women.
Ÿ Across the educational spectrum, average wages in the public sector are lower than those in the private sector.
Ÿ After accounting for individual characteristics, we find that public employees typically earn 8 percent less than
their private sector counterparts.
Ÿ Benefits (for example, pensions and health insurance) make up a greater share of total employee compensation
in the public sector. Once we account for benefit differences, there are no significant differences overall in full
compensation among public and private employees.
Ÿ But our disaggregated analysis across occupations shows considerable variation.
Ÿ In most occupations, the public sector premium benefit differential offsets the wage discount.
Ÿ Management and life physical occupations show considerable public sector penalties, even after we correct for
benefit differences.
Ÿ Building and grounds maintenance occupations, health-care support occupations, and office-support
occupations show considerable public sector premiums, even after accounting for benefit differences.
Ÿ Analysis across the wage distribution shows that public sector wage penalties are most pronounced in higher
paid occupations.
I-1
Introduction
This report investigates whether state and local public employees are overpaid or underpaid relative to their private
sector counterparts. As the big budget shortfall continues to worry the legislature, it is important to understand if
excessive public compensation is an area of concern—in which case some remedies would be freezing pay, reducing
benefits, or taking other measures. The data analysis in this section of the report indicates that in general public
employees—including both state and local government employees—are not overpaid. Comparisons controlling for
the effects of education, experience, gender, race, and ethnicity reveal no significant overpayment.
On average, full-time state and local employees earn wages that are 8% lower than those of private-sector workers.
But once we account for differences in benefits of public and private employees, there is no statistically significant
difference in total compensation. Our more disaggregated analysis does show considerable differences across
occupations, with compensation penalties or premiums persisting even after the benefit correction.
Our results are based solely on applying standard statistical and economic methods to available data, requiring few
subjective judgments. The numbers themselves tell a compelling a story. They also confirm intuitive judgments
about public-sector compensation.
Literature Review
The fundamental question is whether public and private sector workers receive about the same compensation. This
issue is difficult to parse, for a couple of reasons. First, the human capital (education, training, experience) of public
and private sector workers may differ. For example, if public sector employees are more educated than their private
sector counterparts, then higher wages would be justified. The second reason why public-private comparisons are
complex is that compensation consists of more than just wages. Pension benefits comprise an important part of
compensation, so comparisons of just wages and salaries may be misleading. Previous empirical evidence suggests
that the inflationary forces on public sector wages prevail. The U.S. literature is rich with public–private sector wage
comparisons. Smith (1976, 1997a, b, 1981), Quinn (1979), and Bellante and Long (1981), to name a few, have
studied public sector wage premiums using various definitions of public sector and of compensation. More
recently, Poterba and Rueben (1994) showed that the wage distribution was wider in the private sector and that state
and local government workers enjoyed a wage premium at the lower tail of the distribution, but a wage penalty at
the upper tail.
When comparing the pay of two different groups, the economics literature has typically followed one of two paths
(Moulton 1990; Belman and Heywood 2004b). One approach is the “opportunity wage definition” of comparability,
sometimes also called the “people approach,” in which workers with given characteristics in the government sector
should be paid the same as they would be in the private sector. The alternative is a “positions approach,” in which
one would search the private sector for positions that match the descriptions of those in the public sector and then
compare compensation, ignoring the characteristics of those who actually hold the positions. As Moulton (1990) has
observed in the case of federal/non-federal comparisons, the two approaches need not provide an answer of the same
sign, let alone similar magnitudes.
Our approach is somewhat hybrid but leans more heavily towards the people approach. The U.S. Census Bureau’s
American Community survey, which is a household survey, lets us account for the respondents’ characteristics in
addition to their class of work. Additionally, we use disaggregated regressions at the occupational level, thereby
comparing wages and compensation at a more homogenous level. The Employer Costs for Employee Compensation
dataset, from which we obtain benefit information, however, is a sample of jobs rather than of individuals. Thus,
when we use these data, we are primarily examining the characteristics of positions.
Characteristics of the Alaska Economy
TotalAlaskanon-farmemploymentin2014,asestimatedbytheU.S.BureauofEconomicAnalysis,and
includingnon-wageandsalaryemployment,was463,970(Figure1).ThesixlargestAlaskaindustriesin
I-2
2014,asmeasuredbyemployment,werehealth-careandsocialassistance,retailtrade,localgovernment,
accommodationandfoodservices,federalmilitary,andstategovernment.Thepublicsectoraswedefineitis
comprisedofstateandlocalgovernmentemployment.Thesetwosectorstogetheraccountedfor64,470jobs
in2014,oralmost14%oftheAlaskaworkforce.
Figure 1.
Employment by sector for Alaska in 2014
49,939
Health care and social assistance
Retail trade
45,135
Local government
Accommodation and food services
37,786
33,765
State government
26,684
Military
26,347
Construction
25,084
Professional, scientific, and technical services
Transportation and warehousing
24,953
23,642
Mining
22,406
Other services, except public administration
21,150
Administrative and waste management services
Manufacturing
17,758
17,145
Real estate and rental leasing
15,873
Federal, civilian
14,921
Forestry, fishing, and related activities
Finance and insurance
13,007
11,406
Arts, entertainment, and recreation
10,691
Wholesale trade
7,480
Information
7,316
Educational services
Management of companies and enterprises
5,958
3,313
Utilities
2,211
0
Overall Nonfarm employment was 463,970 in 2014
with state and local government employment
being almost 14% of that total.
10,000
20,000
30,000
Employment
40,000
50,000
The role of state and local government has always been important in the state’s economy. The current budgetary
shortfalls could potentially mean significant changes in the near future. Looking back, we can see that state
government employment has grown at an average of 1.3 % (Figure 2) per year over the last decade. There has not
been year-over-year negative growth since 2004, when the state experienced two straight years of decline. Local
government employment, however, declined in both 2013 and 2014, at an average of 1.295% per year.
2005
year
Employment
2010
Growth Rate
2015
3%
2%
Growth Rate
0%
1%
38,000
37,000
-2%
-1%
36,000
35,000
Local government employment
4%
0%Growth Rate
2%
2000
Local government employment
39,000
State government employment 2000-2015
-2%
22,000 23,000 24,000 25,000 26,000 27,000
State government employment
Figure 2.
2000
2005
Employment
year
2010
2015
Growth Rate
I-3
Data Description
The data for this section of the report are from the pooled 2009-2013 American Community Survey (ACS)
microdata samples, obtained from IPUMS (Ruggles et al 2010). The microdata are composed of individual records
containing information collected on persons and households. We restrict the data to people who lived in Alaska
during the years of interest. To generate a representative dataset, we apply person-weights to obtain the underlying
population. The ACS includes data on the individual’s sex, age, race, highest level of education completed, annual
earnings, hours worked, and weeks worked. The data also include occupational, industrial codes, and class of the
worker (state, local, private). The data analysis is further restricted to people ages 16-64 and excludes the selfemployed. We identify people as “public sector workers” if they are employed in either state of local government
and private sector workers if they are wage and salary employees at private firms. Public sector workers made up
22.4% of total employment in the IPUMS sample for 2009-2013.
Table 1. Characteristics of the labor force
Self-employed
Wage/salary,
private
Wage/salary
at non-profit
Federal gov’t
employee
State gov’t
employee
Local gov’t
employee
Wage
Age
Male
Black
Native
Other
$75,748
50
70%
2.3%
2.8%
8%
$48,230
39
57%
6.8%
6.8%
16.4%
$45,048
42
35.5%
5.9%
16.2%
13.2%
$54,956
36
70.7%
16.7%
5.4%
8.4%
$50,463
44
45.4%
8.7%
11.4%
9%
$44,814
44
44.3%
4.2%
23.7%
11.4%
In analyzing public- and private-sector compensation, it is tempting to simply compare average salaries, and it is not
uncommon to see such comparisons in the media. But a simple comparison of average salaries will be misleading
without taking into account differences in skills among workers.
We start in Table 1 by examining the characteristics of workers employed across different sectors. It is clear that the
demographics of the two labor forces (state/local versus private) differ substantially, with public-sector workers on
average older (44 years versus 39 years), more likely to be women (56% versus 43%), and more diverse, with the
percent White smaller (64% versus 70%).
Looked at the other way, private sector workers are more likely to be White, younger, and men. These demographic
differences make it clear that simply comparing wage averages may be misleading. The differences are relevant
because there are significant earning differences between men and women, Whites and other races, and older versus
younger workers.
Table 2 and Figure 4 show there are also significant education differences between private and public workers.
Employees with a college degree or more represent half of the state government’s workers but only 21% of the
private workforce. Another significant difference is how much each sector relies on those with just high-school
educations—a third of the private sector’s workforce but only 1.3% and 4.7% of the state and local government’s
workforces. People with a bachelor’s degree or more represent 46.07% of the state government’s labor force but
only 19% of the private labor force. Education is an important driver of earnings.
State government employees are less likely to be high-school dropouts or just high-school graduates, and more
likely to have college or graduate degrees. These differences could be either driven by the educational requirements
of positions in the respective sectors or self-selection. This means that the public sector may require more education
I-4
than the private, or that more educated people are drawn to the public sector. This self-selection could be due to nonpecuniary aspects of the work environment, more flexible hours, or the general match between skills and job
requirements.
Table 2. Education by Type of Worker
Self-employed, not
incorporated
Self-employed, incorporated
Wage/salary, private
Wage/salary at non-profit
Federal gov’t employee
State gov’t employee
Local gov’t employee
Unpaid family worker
Less than
High
School
High
School
Some College
College
degree
Post
College
6.5%
30.4%
34.5%
16.7%
10.7%
2.7%
7.8%
3.1%
1.5%
1.3%
4.7%
23.2%
21%
32.1%
17.5%
18.7%
13.9%
20.1%
12.4%
38.3%
38.8%
39%
51.9%
30.3%
34%
48.4%
19.6%
15%
24.9%
17.6%
30.2%
22.7%
13%
18.3%
5.1%
15.4%
10.2%
24.2%
18.1%
3%
College
or
more
21%
54%
41%
Figure 4.
40%
Education level, Private Sector versus State & Local Public Employees
39%
32%
30%
32%
26%
20%
21%
17%
10%
15%
0%
5%
Private
Public
High School
College
Some College
Post College
I-5
Table 3. Average earnings in Alaska by Education Level:
Private Sector Employees Compared with State and Local Government Employees
Public
Private
Compare
Penalty
Less than high
school
High school
Some college
Associate's degree
Bachelor's degree
Master's degree
Professional Degree
Doctoral degree
19,623
34,484
40,094
46,306
53,484
59,662
80,331
74,813
24,251
39,543
43,272
52,113
68,986
91,635
128,682
114,431
-4,628
-5,059
-3,178
-5,807
-15,502
-31,973
-48,351
-39,618
-19.08%
-12.79%
-7.34%
-11.14%
-22.47%
-34.89%
-37.57%
-34.62%
Total
47,641
48,230
-589
-1.22%
One interesting way to compare the public and private sectors is earnings by degree across classes of workers. This
comparison examines average earnings by level of education in the public/private sectors. It is very clear that there
are wage discounts in the public sector. A wage discount means that similarly educated workers earns less in the
public sector than their counterparts in the private sector. For example, a person with an associate degree earns on
average $46,306 in the public sector but $52,113 in the private.
State and local governments pay college-educated labor on average 22.47% percent less than private employers do
(Table 3). The earnings differential is greatest for those with advanced degrees. The differences are less pronounced
for lower-wage workers.
Empirical Strategy
Our results are based solely on applying standard statistical and economic methods to available data, requiring few
subjective judgments about one state relative to another. The numbers themselves tell the story.
The empirical strategy is to estimate the Mincer’s earning equation (Mincer 1974), in which worker's wage is a
function of worker's demographic, human capital, and socioeconomic characteristics. The model is specified as
log (𝑊!" ) = 𝑋!" + 𝑃𝑢𝑏!" +ε
The dependent variable is the logarithm of yearly wage for worker i in year t. In order to investigate the relative
importance of worker characteristics we include vector 𝑋!" , which includes the usual worker's demographic and
socioeconomic characteristics— gender, race, education, and age. We use gender as a dummy variable that takes the
value of 1 for men and zero for women. To account for race, we use three race categories (Black, Native, Other)
with the omitted category being White. We use four education categories (High school, some college, college
degree, post-college degree), with the omitted category being less than high school. We also include a worker’s age,
to reflect experience, and age square to account for the life cycle wage differential. The variable of interest in this
estimation is 𝑃𝑢𝑏!" ; which is a dummy variable that takes the value of 1 if the worker is employed in either state or
local government and zero for those in the private sector.1 Controlling for these characteristics allows us to
determine how the sector of employment affects workers’ earnings.
1
We also estimate regressions with the omitted variable including the federal government and non-profits (results not shown but available on
request.)
I-6
Table 4. Regression Analysis
VARIABLES
(1)
Wages
(2)
Full compensation
Public
-0.081***
0.018
(0.027)
(0.028)
0.41***
0.42***
(0.025)
(0.025)
-0.28***
-0.28***
(0.077)
(0.079)
-0.36***
-0.35***
(0.047)
(0.048)
-0.22***
-0.22***
(0.035)
(0.036)
0.48***
0.49***
(0.069)
(0.069)
0.67***
0.68***
(0.067)
(0.067)
0.95***
0.96***
(0.071)
(0.071)
1.17***
1.16***
(0.076)
(0.076)
0.14***
0.14***
(0.006)
(0.006)
-0.0015***
-0.0015***
(7.82e-05)
(7.86e-05)
6.35***
6.66***
(0.141)
(0.142)
Observations
10,339
10,339
R-squared
0.327
0.330
Male
Black
Native
Other
High School
Some College
College
Post College
Age
Age^2
Constant
I-7
Figure 5.
Public sector
8.1%
Male
Black
41%
28%
Experience
14%
Exp(squared)
Native
Other
0.015%
36%
22%
High School
48%
Some College
67%
College
95%
Post College
117%
-50%
0%
50%
100%
150%
Wage premium or penalty associated with specific attributes
Notes: For “0/1” variables, the bars represent the relationship between the characteristic and wages; for continuous
variables, the bars represent the impact of a one-unit change on the wage. All coefficients are significant at the 1percent level. Source: Authors’ calculations from IPUMS (2009-2013).
What do we mean by statistical significance?
We would like to determine if the data contains enough evidence to enable us to conclude that the computed
relationships observed between variables can be interpreted as being true statements, or if the results observed in our
sample data are simply due to chance. More technically, it means that if the Null Hypothesis is true (which means
there really is no difference), there's a low probability of getting a result that large or larger. This provides a “pvalue” representing the probability that random chance could explain the result.
Base Estimation Results
While the descriptive statistics we show from Tables 1-3 are informative about the different characteristics of the
labor force, the regression analysis above (Table 4 and Figure 5) accounts for all those characteristics and estimates
the premium and or discount earned as a result of being employed in the public sector. Column 1 assesses the wage
differentials after accounting for the effects of gender, race, education, and experience. The coefficient on the public
sector (Table 4, column 1) shows that on average public sector employees in Alaska earn 8.1% less than their private
sector counterparts, after accounting for the effects of demographic and education characteristics. To be clear, these
differences are wage differentials after accounting for individual-level characteristics. We also find that men earn
about 41% more than their female counterparts, and college-educated people earn 95% more than people with less
than a high school education. Additionally, the age effect is positive and highly significant, with a non-linear effect
reflecting the wage’s lifecycle pattern.
I-8
What about Benefits?
Given that there are differences in benefits between the private and public sectors, we augment wages by what we
call benefit markups, from Table 11 in the appendix. These are obtained from the National Compensation Survey,
which produces comprehensive data on the incidence (the percentage of workers with access to and participation in
employer provided benefit plans) and provisions of selected employee benefit plans. The detailed benefits across the
public and private sectors are provided in the appendix in Table 10.
State and local government employees receive a higher portion of their compensation in the form of employerprovided benefits, and the mix of benefits is different from the private sector. Some benefits are more generous in
the public sector, but it is a serious error to imagine that comparability requires that each and every element of
compensation is the same. It is the total cost of compensation package—not the mix of cash and benefits—that is
important in making a comparison. Public employers contribute on average 35.6% of employee compensation
expenses to benefits, whereas private employers devote between 26.5% and 34.5% of compensation to benefits,
depending on the employer’s size. Public employers provide better health insurance and pension benefits. Health
insurance accounts for 6.3% to 8.3% of private-sector compensation but 11.2% of state and local government
employee compensation. Retirement benefits also account for a substantially greater share of public-employee
compensation, 8.1% compared with 2.8% to 4.8% in the private sector. Most public employees also continue to
participate in defined-benefit plans managed by the state, while most private-sector employers have switched to
defined-contribution plans, particularly 401(k) plans. On the other hand, public employees receive considerably less
supplemental pay and vacation time, and public employers contribute significantly less to legally mandated benefits.
We present these augmented results, which account for benefits2 in Table 4, column 2. Once we account for the full
compensation, the public/private differences are no longer statistically significant—which means that the benefit
advantages in the public sector offset the wage discount. While the average differences are obviously informative
and important, the market for different occupations is substantially heterogeneous which renders an analysis at a
more disaggregated level (occupational level in this case) more informative and therefore more conducive to
decision-making.
Occupational Groupings
The market for different occupations is substantially heterogeneous, which renders an analysis at a more
disaggregated level (occupational level in this case) more informative and therefore more conducive to decisionmaking. Below, we conduct more disaggregated analyses by focusing on two-digit occupational codes. The Standard
Occupational Classification (SOC) system is used by federal statistical agencies to classify workers into
occupational categories for the purpose of collecting, calculating, or disseminating data. To facilitate classification,
detailed occupations are combined to form 461 broad occupations, 97 minor groups, and 23 major groups (the ones
we use). Detailed occupations in the SOC with similar job duties, and in some cases skills, education, and/or
training, are grouped together. We group occupations at the two-digit level, which allows us to estimate the
premium or discount at this level rather than just averages.
Before delving into the estimation that accounts for personal- level characteristics, Table 5 presents wages by
occupation in both the public and private sectors. This allows us to compare wage earnings at the two-digit level for
both private and public workers. It also allows us to generate in column 4 what we call “Public benefit
premium/discount necessary for the full compensation across sectors to be equal.” It is calculated as wages in the
private sector minus the wage in the public sector for a specific occupation. It becomes apparent as we compare
wages that the differential varies considerably from one occupation to the next. Some of these differences can be
explained by education, experience, and the demographic characteristics of the workers. In order to fully account for
such differences, we estimate the same regression from Table 4 at each of the two-digit codes. The result can be
interpreted as a “wage differential (penalty/premium)” that is due to employment in the public sector after
accounting for gender, race, education, and age.
2
We use benefit differentials obtained from the BLS, derived from a national survey.
I-9
Table 5. Wages by occupation
Two digit codes
Two-digit names
Public wages
Private wages
Size of the
public benefit
differential
necessary for the
full
compensation to
be the same3
11
Management occupations
65,913
93,299
27,386
13
Business operations/Financial
specialists
Computer and Mathematical
occupations
Architecture and Engineering
Occupations
Life, Physical and science
Occupations
50,554
76,143
25,589
60,078
66,841
6,763
78,132
98,184
20,052
54,639
77,157
22,518
Community and Social
occupations
Legal occupations
51,364
45,839
-5,525
75,684
89,090
13,406
Education, Training, and
Library occupations
Arts, Design, Entertainment,
Sports, and Media Occupations
Healthcare Practitioners and
Technical Occupations
45,757
37,984
-7,773
47,182
52,757
5,575
67,111
80,222
13,111
31
Healthcare Support Occupations
32,188
27,146
-5,042
33
Food Preparation and Serving
Occupations
65,280
42,750
-22,530
35
Building and Grounds Cleaning
and Maintenance Occupations
25,669
22,371
-3,298
37
Building and Grounds Cleaning
and Maintenance Occupations
28,900
26,190
-2,710
39
Personal Care and Service
Occupations
15,412
27,433
12,021
41
Sales Occupations
42,323
42,513
190
43
Office and Administrative
Support Occupations
40,004
36,940
-3,064
45
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry
Occupations
12,377
44,869
32,492
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
3
This calculates the amount by which the public sector’s benefits would need to exceed those of the private sector’s for the full compensations to
be equal.
I-10
47
Construction, Extraction and
maintenance occupations
52,450
66,001
13,551
49
Installation, Maintenance, and
Repair Workers
52,805
61,049
8,244
51
Production Occupations
40,887
41,416
529
53
Transportation and Material
Moving Occupations
44,390
49,825
5,435
Occupational Estimation Results
Wage Estimations
Figure 6 shows the coefficient on the public sector dummy variable (indicator variable that identifies public sector
employment). It can be interpreted as the percent wage difference due to public sector employment. We find
statistically significant differences in five occupations. In the rest of the occupations, those differences are not
statistically significant, which means that the likelihood of those differences being a result of chance is high. We
turn our attention to the occupations where the differences are real—that is, statistically different.
There are large penalties to public sector employment in management occupations, life physical science
occupations, personal care service occupations, and installation and repair occupations. We find wage premiums in
health-care support occupations. For example, a person working in a management occupation in the public sector
earns almost 33% person less than a person with similar characteristics (age, gender, race, and education) in the
private sector. Figure 6 shows these coefficients for each of the occupations and has accompanying percentages for
categories that are significantly different across the sectors.
Compensation Estimations
A pressing question is whether these differences are still important, once we account for the public sector’s more
generous benefits. An employer typically thinks of the overall compensation, which is comprised of both wages and
benefits. In order to make comparisons including both wages and benefits, we use benefit markups obtained from
the National Compensation Survey to augment wages with the benefits typically earned in each of these
occupations( see Table 11 in the appendix). We re-estimate the occupational regressions with the full compensation
as the dependent variable and summarize the results in Figure 7 and Table 12 (in the appendix). These full
compensation estimations show that there are still penalties in the management and life science occupations of 2%
and 36% respectively. We also find that there are premiums in maintenance occupations, office administration
occupations, and health-care support occupations of 48.6%, 15.7%, and 78% respectively.
I-11
Figure 6.
Public wage penalty/premium at the occupational level
Architecture and Engineering Occupations
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations
Business operations/Financial specialists
Community and Social occupations
Computer and Mathematical occupations
Construction, Extraction and maintenance occupations
Education, Training, and Library occupations
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations
Food Preparation and Serving Occupations
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations
52.1%
Healthcare Support Occupations
21.1%
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
Legal occupations
Life, Physical and science Occupations
Management occupations
39.1%
32.8%
Office and Administrative Support Occupations
Personal Care and Service Occupations
48.6%
Production Occupations
Sales Occupations
Transportation and Material Moving Occupations
Not statistically significant
Wage premium
Wage penalty
-50% -40% -30% -20% -10%
0%
10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Public wage penalty/premium
Source: Authors’ calculations IPUMS (2009-2013)
I-12
Figure 7.
Compensation premium/penalty of public employees by occupation
Architecture and Engineering Occupations
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations
48.6%
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations
Business operations/Financial specialists
Community and Social occupations
Computer and Mathematical occupations
Construction, Extraction and maintenance occupations
Education, Training, and Library occupations
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations
Food Preparation and Serving Occupations
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations
78%
Healthcare Support Occupations
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
Legal occupations
Life, Physical and science Occupations
Management occupations
-35.7%
-29.4%
15.6%
Office and Administrative Support Occupations
Personal Care and Service Occupations
Production Occupations
Sales Occupations
Transportation and Material Moving Occupations
Not statistically significant
Compensation penalty
Compensation premium
-50%
-30%
-10%
10%
30%
50%
70%
90%
Compensation premium/penalty of public sector employees
Source: Authors’ calculations IPUMS (2009-2013)
I-13
Estimation by Wage Quintile
Table 6. Regressions by Wage Quintiles
Wage Quintiles
11 to 26,000 dollars
-0.0191
26,100 to 43,200
-0.0101
43,300 to 68,000
0.0229***
Larger than 69,000
-0.258***
Figure 8.
Public wage penalty/premium by quintile
Not statistically significant
Wage premium
Wage penalty
11,000 to 26,000
26,100 to 43,200
2.29%
43,300 to 68,000
Larger than 69,000
25.8%
-25%
-20%
-15%
-10%
-5%
0%
Wage premium/penalty by quintile
Source:Authors’calculationsfromIPUMS(2009-2013).
I-14
To provide some sense of the heterogeneity of the wage penalty by type of worker, we re-estimated the wage
equation was by wage quintile. That is, a separate wage equation was estimated from the lowest paid one-fifth to the
highest paid one-fifth. The results confirm what other studies have found.4 Public employees in the lowest one-third
of the wage distribution are paid more than their private sector counterparts. Those in the middle third are paid about
the same. And those state-local workers in the top one-third are paid about 20 percent less than private sector
workers. Despite the variation by wage level, the message from the wage analysis is clear: state-local workers as a
group are paid less than their private sector counter-parts. So far, researchers have no real disagreements.
Conclusion: Are state and local public employees overpaid?
No, there is no consistent evidence that state and local government employees are overcompensated.
In this section of the report, we investigated if public sector employees (state and local) are over/undercompensated
relative to their private sector counterparts. We specifically assessed wage/compensation differentials between
public and private sector workers in Alaska, both on average and across occupations.
Our general findings are consistent with the national research, which agrees that wages of similarly situated workers
are lower in the state-local government sector than in the private sector. The disagreement hinges on the extent to
which benefits offset the wage penalty. Our re-estimation of the much-used wage equation, plus adjustments for
valuation of benefits, indicates that the two balance out on average.
There are, however, significant differences across occupations. In most occupations, we find no differences between
the sectors once we account for benefits. This indicates that workers in these occupations are paid a similar package
to one that can be obtained in the private sector. Management occupations and science occupations are considerably
undercompensated in the public sector relative to the private sector—which means attracting and keeping employees
may be challenging. Maintenance, health-care support, and office and administrative occupations have a higher
compensation in the public sector than in the private. In general, benefits play a bigger role in the compensation
package of lower-wage workers, which means that the public sector is less competitive as we move up the ladder.
The variation across occupations makes it clear that one needs to be careful in comparing public and private sector
compensation.
4
See Borjas (2002); Fogel and Lewin (1974); Katz and Krueger (1991); Poterba and Reuben (1994); and Schmitt (2010).
I-15
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Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 114(3), pp. 941–1023.
McNichol, Elizabeth, and Nicholas Johnson. 2010. “Recession Continues to Batter State Budgets; State Responses
Could Slow Recovery.” Washington, D.C.: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. May 2010.
Miller, Michael A. 1996. “The public-private pay debate: what do the data show?” Monthly Labor Review
119(5):18-29.
Munnell, Alicia H., and Mauricio Soto. 2007. “State and Local Pensions Are Different from Private Plans.”
Cambridge, Mass.: Center for Retirement Research, Boston College.
Schmitt, John. 2010. “The Wage Penalty for State and Local Government Employees.” Washington, D.C.: Center
for Economic and Policy Research. May.
Troske, Kenneth. 1999. Evidence on the employer size-wage premium from worker-establishment matched data.
The Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 81(1): pp. 15–26. February.
U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2014. National Compensation Survey: Employee
Benefits in the United States.
U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (U.S. DOL), 2014 Quarterly Census of Employment and
Wages (QCEW).
I-16
Appendix
We use the Employer Cost of Employee Compensation data to calculate full compensation costs. Given the
expensive nature of the survey, the Bureau of Labor of Statistics does not provide state-level estimates.
While public sector benefits are available for Alaska, there is no equivalent information for the private
sector. Therefore, we use national estimates for both private and public benefits as shown in the tables
below. We did the adjustment by calculating the relative markup for each private sector employee based on
his or her occupation. We also adjusted state and local government worker wages using occupation-specific
weights, with the same data. (See Table 11 for the occupation markups.)
Table 10. Role of benefits
Distribution of compensation cost for private sector and state and local workforce (2014)
Private employers
Employees 1
to 99
Employees 100 to
499
Employees
500+
State and Local
Government
workers
Total Compensation
100%
100%
100%
100%
Wages and Salaries
73.5
68.8
65.5
64.4
Total Benefits
26.5
31.2
34.5
35.6
Paid Leave
6
7.2
8.4
7.3
Vacation
3
3.8
4.4
2.7
Holiday
1.9
2.2
2.4
2.1
Sick
0.7
0.8
1.1
1.9
Other
0.3
0.4
0.4
0.5
Supplemental pay
2.1
2.8
4.1
0.8
Overtime
0.7
1
0.9
0.4
0.2
0.4
0.1
1.3
1.6
2.8
0.3
6.9
9.2
9.7
11.9
Life
0.1
0.2
0.1
0.1
Health
6.6
8.7
9.1
11.7
Short Term disability
0.1
0.2
0.2
0.1
long term disability
0.1
0.2
0.2
0.1
2.7
3.8
5.6
9.6
1
1.6
2.8
8.8
1.7
2.2
2.9
0.9
8.8
8.1
7.1
6
6
5.8
5.6
4.5
0.2
0.1
0.1
0.2
0.9
0.8
0.5
0.6
1.7
1.4
0.9
1.2
Shift Differential
Nonproduction bonuses
Insurance
Retirement and savings
Defined benefit
Defined contribution
Legally required
Social security/Medicare
Federal Unemployment
insurance
State Unemployment
insurance
State Workers'
compensation
I-17
Table 11. Benefit Markups
Occupational name
Private
Public
Management Occupations
Two digit
code
11
1.44
1.49
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
13
1.44
1.49
Computer and Mathematical Occupations
15
1.43
1.48
Architecture and Engineering Occupations
17
1.43
1.48
Life, Physical and science Occupations
19
1.43
1.48
Community and Social occupations
21
1.43
1.48
Legal occupations
23
1.43
1.48
Education, Training, and Library occupations
25
1.43
1.48
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations
27
1.43
1.48
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations
29
1.43
1.48
Healthcare Support Occupations
31
1.32
1.71
Protective Service Occupations
33
1.32
1.71
Food Preparation and Serving Occupations
35
1.32
1.71
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations
37
1.32
1.71
Personal Care and Service Occupations
39
1.32
1.71
Sales Occupations
41
1.4
1.67
Office and Administrative Support Occupations
43
1.45
1.67
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations
45
1.45
1.67
Construction Trades
47
1.43
1.56
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
49
1.43
1.56
Production Occupations
51
1.43
1.56
Transportation and Material Moving Occupations
53
1.43
1.56
I-18
Table 12. Regressions by occupation
The regressions below show the premium and or penalty for the public sector in each of the following occupations:
Code
Wages
By occupation*
-0.328***
Compensation
Management
occupations
Business
operations/Financial
specialists
11
13
-0.107
-0.0724
Computer and
Mathematical
occupations
Architecture and
Engineering
Occupations
Life, Physical and
science
Occupations
15
-0.145
-0.111
17
-0.176
-0.142
19
-0.391***
-0.357***
Community and
Social occupations
21
0.0316
0.066
Legal occupations
23
0.156
0.19
Education, Training,
and Library
occupations
Arts, Design,
Entertainment,
Sports, and Media
Occupations
Healthcare
Practitioners and
Technical
Occupations
25
-0.0725
-0.0382
-
27
0.167
0.201
29
-0.0922
-0.0578
Healthcare Support
Occupations
31
0.521***
0.780***
Food Preparation
and Serving
Occupations
35
0.0326
0.291*
Building and
Grounds Cleaning
and Maintenance
Occupations
37
0.212
0.471***
-0.294***
I-19
Personal Care and
Service
Occupations
39
-0.486***
-0.227
Sales Occupations
41
-0.0793
0.0971
Office and
Administrative
Support
Occupations
43
0.0151
0.156***
Farming, Fishing,
and Forestry
Occupations
45
-0.385
-0.244
Installation,
Maintenance, and
Repair Workers
49
-0.210**
-0.123
Production
Occupations
51
-0.0178
0.0693
Transportation and
Material Moving
Occupations
53
-0.0327
0.0543
*All the regressions contain Education, age and age squared, gender, and race
Robust standard errors in parentheses
*** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.1
Table 13. Detailed occupational codes
Management Occupations (code 11)
Chief Executives
General and Operations Managers
Legislators
Advertising and Promotions Managers
Marketing and Sales Managers
Public Relations Managers
Administrative Services Managers
Computer and Information Systems Managers
Financial Managers
Human Resources Managers
Industrial Production Managers
Purchasing Managers
Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers
I-20
Farm, Ranch, and Other Agricultural Managers
Farmers and Ranchers
Construction Managers
Education Administrator
Engineering Managers
Food Service Managers
Funeral Directors
Gaming Managers
Lodging Managers
Medical and Health Services Managers
Natural Sciences Managers
Postmasters and Mail Superintendents
Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers
Social and Community Service Managers
Managers, All Other
Business Operations Specialists/Financial Specialists (13)
Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes
Purchasing Agents and Buyers, Farm Products
Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products
Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products
Claims Adjusters, Appraisers, Examiners, and Investigators
Compliance Officers, Except Agriculture, Construction, Health and Safety, and Transportation
Cost Estimators
Human Resources, Training, and Labor Relations Specialists
Logisticians
Management Analysts
Meeting and Convention Planners
Other Business Operations Specialists
Computer and Mathematical Occupations (15)
Computer Scientists and Systems Analysts
Computer Programmers
Computer Software Engineers
Computer Support Specialists
Database Administrators
Network and Computer Systems Administrators
Network Systems and Data Communication Analysts
Actuaries
Mathematicians
Operations Research Analysts
Statisticians
Miscellaneous mathematical science occupations
I-21
Architecture and Engineering Occupations (17)
Architects, Except Naval
Surveyors, Cartographers, and Photogrammetrists
Aerospace Engineers
Agricultural Engineers
Biomedical Engineers
Chemical Engineers
Civil Engineers
Computer Hardware Engineers
Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Environmental Engineers
Industrial Engineers, Including Health and Safety
Marine Engineers
Materials Engineers
Mechanical Engineers
Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers
Nuclear Engineers
Petroleum engineers
Petroleum, Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers
Engineers, all other
Miscellaneous Engineers, Including Agricultural and Biomedical
Drafters
Engineering Technicians, Except Drafters
Surveying and Mapping Technicians
Life, Physical and Social Science Occupations (19)
Agricultural and Food Scientists
Biological Scientists
Conservation Scientists and Foresters
Medical Scientists
Astronomers and Physicists
Atmospheric and Space Scientists
Chemists and Materials Scientists
Environmental Scientists and Geoscientists
Physical Scientists, All Other
Economists
Market and Survey Researchers
Psychologists
Sociologists
Urban and Regional Planners
I-22
Miscellaneous social scientists and related workers
Miscellaneous Social Scientists, Including Sociologists
Agricultural and Food Science Technicians
Biological Technicians
Chemical Technicians
Geological and Petroleum Technicians
Nuclear Technicians
Other life, physical, and social science technicians
Miscellaneous Life, Physical, and Social Science Technicians, Including Social Science Research
Assistants and Nuclear Technicians
Community and Social Service Occupations (21)
Counselors
Social Workers
Miscellaneous Community and Social Service Specialists
Clergy
Directors, Religious Activities and Education
Religious Workers, All Other
Legal Occupations (23)
Lawyers
Judges, Magistrates, and Other Judicial Workers
Paralegals and Legal Assistants
Miscellaneous Legal Support Workers
Education, Training, and Library Occupations (25)
Postsecondary Teachers
Preschool and Kindergarten Teachers
Elementary and Middle School Teachers
Secondary School Teachers
Special Education Teachers
Other Teachers and Instructors
Archivists, Curators, and Museum Technicians
Librarians
Library Technicians
Teacher Assistants
Other Education, Training, and Library Workers
I-23
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations (27)
Artists and Related Workers
Designers
Actors
Producers and Directors
Athletes, Coaches, Umpires, and Related Workers
Dancers and Choreographers
Musicians, Singers, and Related Workers
Entertainers and Performers, Sports and Related Workers, All Other
Announcers
News Analysts, Reporters, and Correspondents
Public Relations Specialists
Editors
Technical Writers
Writers and Authors
Miscellaneous Media and Communications Workers
Broadcast and sound engineering technicians and radio operators
Broadcast and Sound Engineering Technicians and Radio Operators and Other Media and
Communication Equipment Workers
Photographers
Television, Video, and Motion Picture Camera Operators and Editors
Media and Communications Workers, All Other
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations (29)
Chiropractors
Dentists
Dietitians and Nutritionists
Optometrists
Pharmacists
Physicians and Surgeons
Physician Assistants
Podiatrists
Registered Nurses
Audiologists
Occupational Therapists
Physical Therapists
Radiation Therapists
Recreational Therapists
Respiratory Therapists
Speech-Language Pathologists
Therapists, All Other
Veterinarians
Health Diagnosing and Treating Practitioners, All Other
I-24
Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians
Dental Hygienists
Diagnostic Related Technologists and Technicians
Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics
Health Diagnosing and Treating Practitioner Support Technicians
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses
Medical Records and Health Information Technicians
Opticians, Dispensing
Miscellaneous Health Technologists and Technicians
Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations
Healthcare Support Occupations (31)
Nursing, Psychiatric, and Home Health Aides
Occupational Therapist Assistants and Aides
Physical Therapist Assistants and Aides
Massage Therapists
Dental Assistants
Medical Assistants and Other Healthcare Support Occupations
Protective Service Occupations (33)
First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Correctional Officers
First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Police and Detectives
First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Fire Fighting and Preventions Workers
Supervisors, Protective Service Workers, All Other
Fire Fighters
Fire Inspectors
Bailiffs, Correctional Officers, and Jailers
Detectives and Criminal Investigators
Fish and Game Wardens
Parking enforcement workers
Miscellaneous Law Enforcement Workers
Police officers
Police and sheriff's patrol officers
Transit and Railroad Police
Animal Control Workers
Private Detectives and Investigators
Security Guards and Gaming Surveillance Officers
Crossing Guards
Lifeguards and Other Protective Service Workers
I-25
Food Preparation and Serving Occupations (35)
Chefs and Head Cooks
First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Food Preparation and Serving Workers
Cooks
Food Preparation Workers
Bartenders
Combined Food Preparation and Serving Workers, Including Fast Food
Counter Attendants, Cafeteria, Food Concession, and Coffee Shop
Waiters and Waitresses
Food Servers, Non-restaurant
Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers
Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants, Bartender Helpers, and Miscellaneous Food
Preparation and Serving Related Workers
Dishwashers
Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop
Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations (37)
First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Housekeeping and Janitorial Workers
First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers
Janitors and Building Cleaners
Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners
Pest Control Workers
Grounds Maintenance Workers
Personal Care and Service Occupations (39)
First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Gaming Workers
First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Personal Service Workers
Animal Trainers
Nonfarm Animal Caretakers
Gaming Services Workers
Motion Picture Projectionists
Ushers, Lobby Attendants, and Ticket Takers
Miscellaneous Entertainment Attendants and Related Workers
Funeral Service Workers
Barbers
Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists
Miscellaneous Personal Appearance Workers
Baggage Porters, Bellhops, and Concierges
Tour and Travel Guides
Transportation Attendants
Child Care Workers
Personal and Home Care Aides
Recreation and Fitness Workers
Residential Advisors
Personal Care and Service Workers, All Other
I-26
Sales Occupations (41)
First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Retail Sales Workers
First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Non-Retail Sales Workers
Cashiers
Counter and Rental Clerks
Parts Salespersons
Retail Salespersons
Advertising Sales Agents
Insurance Sales Agents
Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents
Travel Agents
Sales Representatives, Services, All Other
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing
Models, Demonstrators, and Product Promoters
Real Estate Brokers and Sales Agents
Sales Engineers
Telemarketers
Door-To-Door Sales Workers, News and Street Vendors, and Related Workers
Sales and Related Workers, All Other
Office and Administrative Support Occupations (43)
First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Office and Administrative Support Workers
Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service
Telephone Operators
Communications Equipment Operators, All Other
Bill and Account Collectors
Billing and Posting Clerks and Machine Operators
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks
Gaming Cage Workers
Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks
Procurement Clerks
Tellers
Brokerage Clerks
Correspondence Clerks
Court, Municipal, and License Clerks
Credit Authorizers, Checkers, and Clerks
Customer Service Representatives
Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs
File Clerks
Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks
Interviewers, Except Eligibility and Loan
Library Assistants, Clerical
Loan Interviewers and Clerks
New Accounts Clerks
I-27
Order Clerks
Correspondence Clerks and Order Clerks
Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping
Receptionists and Information Clerks
Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks
Information and Record Clerks, All Other
Cargo and Freight Agents
Couriers and Messengers
Dispatchers
Meter readers, Utilities
Postal Service Clerks
Postal Service Mail Carriers
Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators
Production, Planning and Expediting Clerks
Shipping, Receiving, and Traffic Clerks
Stock Clerks and Order Filers
Weighers, Measurers, Checkers, and Samplers, Record keeping
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
Computer Operators
Data Entry Keyers
Word Processors and Typists
Desktop Publishers
Insurance Claims and Policy Processing Clerks
Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service
Office Clerks, General
Office Machine Operators, Except Computer
Proofreaders and Copy Markers
Statistical Assistants
Office and Administrative Support Workers, All Other
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations (45)
First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers
Agricultural Inspectors
Animal Breeders
Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products
Miscellaneous Agricultural Workers
Miscellaneous Agricultural Workers, Including Animal Breeders
Fishing and Hunting Workers
Fishers and Related Fishing Workers
Hunters and Trappers
Forest and Conservation Workers
Logging Workers
I-28
Construction, Extraction and maintenance occupations (47)
First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers
Boilermakers
Brickmasons, Blockmasons, and Stonemasons
Carpenters
Carpet, Floor, and Tile Installers and Finishers
Cement Masons, Concrete Finishers, and Terrazzo Workers
Construction Laborers
Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
Pile-Driver Operators
Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators
Miscellaneous Construction Equipment Operators
Drywall Installers, Ceiling Tile Installers, and Tapers
Electricians
Glaziers
Insulation Workers
Painters, Construction and Maintenance
Paperhangers
Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
Plasterers and Stucco Masons
Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers
Roofers
Sheet Metal Workers
Structural iron and steel workers
Iron and Steel Workers
Helpers, Construction Trades
Construction and Building Inspectors
Elevator Installers and Repairers
Fence Erectors
Hazardous Materials
Highway Maintenance Workers
Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators
Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners
Miscellaneous Construction and Related Workers
Derrick, rotary drill, and service unit operators, oil, gas, and mining
Derrick, Rotary Drill, and Service Unit Operators, and Roustabouts, Oil, Gas, and Mining
Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters
Mining Machine Operators
Roof Bolters, Mining
Roustabouts, Oil and Gas
Helpers -- Extraction Workers
Miscellaneous Extraction Workers, Including Roof Bolters and Helpers
Other extraction workers
I-29
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers (49)
First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers
Computer, Automated Teller, and Office Machine Repairers
Radio and Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers
Avionics Technicians
Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers
Electrical and Electronics Installers and Repairers, Transportation Equipment
Electrical and electronics repairers, industrial and utility
Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Industrial, Utility, and Transportation Equipment
Electronic Equipment Installers and Repairers, Motor Vehicles
Electronic Home Entertainment Equipment Installers and Repairers
Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers
Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians
Automotive Body and Related Repairers
Automotive Glass Installers and Repairers
Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics
Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists
Heavy Vehicle and Mobile Equipment Service Technicians and Mechanics
Small Engine Mechanics
Miscellaneous Vehicle and Mobile Equipment Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers
Control and Valve Installers and Repairers
Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers
Home Appliance Repairers
Industrial and Refractory Machinery Mechanics
Maintenance and Repair Workers, General
Maintenance Workers, Machinery
Millwrights
Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers
Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers
Precision Instrument and Equipment Repairers
Coin, Vending, and Amusement Machine Servicers and Repairers
Commercial Divers
Locksmiths and Safe Repairers
Manufactured Building and Mobile Home Installers
Riggers
Signal and Track Switch Repairers
Helpers--Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
Other installation, maintenance, and repair workers
Other Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers, Including Commercial Drivers and
Signal and Track Switch Repairers
I-30
Production Occupations (51)
First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Production and Operating Workers
Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers
Electrical, Electronics, and Electromechanical Assemblers
Engine and Other Machine Assemblers
Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators
Bakers
Butchers and Other Meat, Poultry, and Fish Processing Workers
Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders
Food Batchmakers
Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders
Computer Control Programmers and Operators
Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders,
Metal and Plastic
Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Milling and Planing Machine Setter, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Machinists
Metal Furnace and Kiln Operators and Tenders
Model Makers and Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic
Molders and Molding Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Tool and Die Makers
Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Workers
Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Lay-Out Workers, Metal and Plastic
Plating and Coating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners
Metalworkers and plastic workers, all other
Other Metal Workers and Plastic Workers, Including Milling, Planning, and Machine Tool
Operators
Bookbinders and Bindery Workers
Job Printers
Prepress Technicians and Workers
Printing Machine Operators
Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers
Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials
Sewing Machine Operators
Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers
Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders
I-31
Tailors, Dressmakers, and Sewers
Textile Bleaching and Dyeing Machine Operators and Tenders
Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Textile Winding, Twisting, and Drawing Out Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers
Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers
Upholsterers
Textile, apparel, and furnishings workers, all other
Miscellaneous Textile, Apparel, and Furnishings Workers, Except Upholsterers
Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters
Furniture Finishers
Model Makers and Patternmakers, Wood
Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood
Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing
Woodworkers, all other
Miscellaneous Woodworkers, Including Model Makers and Patternmakers
Power Plant Operators, Distributors, and Dispatchers
Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators
Water and Liquid Waste Treatment Plant and System Operators
Miscellaneous Plant and System Operators
Chemical Processing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Crushing, Grinding, Polishing, Mixing, and Blending Workers
Cutting Workers
Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders
Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers
Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers
Medical, Dental, and Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians
Packaging and Filing Machine Operators and Tenders
Painting Workers
Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators
Semiconductor Processors
Cementing and Gluing Machine Operators and Tenders
Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders
Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders
Etchers and Engravers
Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic
Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Tire Builders
Helpers--Production Workers
Production workers, all other
Other Production Workers, Including Semiconductor Processors and Cooling and Freezing
Equipment Operators
I-32
Transportation and Material Moving Occupations (53)
Supervisors, Transportation and Material Moving Workers
Aircraft Pilots and Flight Engineers
Air Traffic Controllers and Airfield Operations Specialists
Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians
Bus Drivers
Driver/Sales Workers and Truck Drivers
Taxi Drivers and Chauffeurs
Motor vehicle operators, all other
Miscellaneous Motor Vehicle Operators, Including Ambulance Drivers and Attendants
Locomotive Engineers and Operators
Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators
Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters
Subway, Streetcar, and Other Rail Transportation Workers
Sailors and Marine Oilers
Ship and Boat Captains and Operators
Ship Engineers
Bridge and Lock Tenders
Parking Lot Attendants
Service Station Attendants
Transportation Inspectors
Other transportation workers
Miscellaneous Transportation Workers, Including Bridge and Lock Tenders and Traffic
Technicians
Conveyor Operators and Tenders
Crane and Tower Operators
Dredge, Excavating, and Loading Machine Operators
Hoist and Winch Operators
Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators
Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
Machine Feeders and Offbearers
Packers and Packagers, Hand
Pumping Station Operators
Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors
Shuttle Car Operators
Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders
Material moving workers, all other
Miscellaneous Material Moving Workers; Including Conveyor Operators and Tenders; Shuttle
Car Operators; and Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders
I-33
Part II. Evidence from Transitions between Private Sector and
Alaska State Government Employment
By Matthew Berman
All ISER publications are solely the work of the individual authors.
This report and its findings should be attributed to the authors, not to
ISER, the University of Alaska Anchorage, or the research sponsors.
For more information about this section of the report, please contact
Matthew Berman, professor of economics.
E-mail: [email protected] • Phone: 907-786-5426
Introduction
Every year since 2001, about 800 workers transitioned from year-round employment in
the private sector in Alaska to year-round employment in Alaska state government
(Figure 1). About half that number moved each year from year-round Alaska state
government jobs to year-round private sector jobs in Alaska each year (Figure 2). About
50 percent more women than men moved from private sector to state jobs, while 50
percent more men moved to private sector jobs from state government jobs. The number
of job transitions by gender has been relatively stable over time.
Figure 1.
Figure 2
II-1
These job transitions offer an opportunity to examine directly whether private sector
workers obtain higher pay when moving to jobs in Alaska state government, and vice
versa. Individual job transitions represent an especially good opportunity to examine pay
differences because they control completely for individual differences, including those
that might be difficult or impossible to observe—such as personality, appearance, and
reputation.
Methods and Data
Because relatively few people in a given occupation moved across sectors in any given
year, we examine transition wages over a relatively long period: 2000 through 2014.
Since we want to exclude seasonal jobs, and therefore need a full year on each side of
the transition to determine whether both the previous job and the current job involve
year-round employment, the analysis examines job transitions that took place between
2001 and 2013. We estimated annual wages by multiplying earnings for the last full
quarter before the transition by four, comparing it to four times earnings for the first full
quarter after the transition. Estimated annual salaries before and after the transition were
adjusted for inflation to constant 2013 dollars, with the Anchorage Consumer Price
Index.
The salary data for this analysis came from employment records maintained by the
Alaska Department of Labor and Workplace Development (ADOLWD). The employment
records provided the occupation for the worker’s jobs before and after the transition.
Occupations represent the “major groups” of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of
Labor Statistics Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) system
(http://www.bls.gov/soc/major_groups.htm). We anticipated that there may be
differences in labor market conditions by gender as well as by occupation. Analysts with
ADOLWD's Research and Analysis Section with access to confidential individual records
were able to link employment records with Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD)
applications by the worker’s social security number. The PFD applications provided the
worker’s gender, age, and place of residence. The record linkage to PFD applications
meant that only Alaska residents were included in the analysis. State employment
records do not include federal civilian employees or active-duty military service men and
women. We also ignored local government jobs. Consequently, the analysis focuses on
transitions between Alaska state government and private sector employment, and vice
versa.
ADOLWD analysts tabulated the individual records and performed various statistical
analyses with the confidential data under the general direction of ISER staff. The first
analysis compares estimated inflation-adjusted annual wages before and after the job
transition across sectors. Since a given job transition might be associated with a
promotion to a position requiring more experience and expecting greater responsibility,
we analyze transitions from state to private employment separately from those from
private to state employment. We summarized the estimated annual inflation-adjusted
salaries by gender and by occupation before and after the transition, and performed t
tests for the significance of the paired salary differences. The t test estimates the
probability that the average difference in salary could be due to random variation.
The second analysis is similar to the first, but examines the estimated total annual
compensation, including benefits before and after the transition. Benefits were estimated
as a fixed percentage of salary, using national averages for public sector and private
II-2
sector workers in each occupation, based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2014
National Compensation Survey. Although exact benefits percentages could be derived
for Alaska state government workers, Alaska-specific figures are not available for private
sector employees. Consequently, we determined that it would be best to use the national
averages for private and public sector workers in each occupation.
Results: Estimated Average Annual Wages
Over the past 15 years, workers leaving private sector jobs for jobs in Alaska state
government, without changing occupations, on average found jobs that paid lower
salaries than the private sector jobs they left behind. Overall, wages were 7.3 percent
higher in the private sector jobs than in the state jobs. Wage differentials for women
were less than for men. On average, private sector wages were about six percent higher
for women and nine percent higher for men (Figure 3). Over the same 14-year period,
workers leaving Alaska state government jobs to take private sector jobs in the same
occupation saw large salary gains on average. Wages were almost 20 percent higher in
the private sector jobs taken than in the state jobs left behind, with the differentials for
men about two percent higher than those for women.
Percentage wage differential, private over state
Figure 3.
Average Private Over State Wage Differentials for
Workers Moving Between Alaska State Government and
Private Sector Jobs in the Same Occupation
25.0%
20.9%
19.9%
18.6%
20.0%
15.0%
9.3%
10.0%
7.3%
5.9%
5.0%
0.0%
Female
Private to state transitions
Male
All Workers
State to private transitions
Workers taking state jobs in most—but not all—occupations saw wage losses. Wage
differentials for workers varied by occupation, in some cases substantially. Table 1
shows that the largest wage accrued to workers in business operations/financial
specialists, management, and legal professions. Men in construction trades also took
large wage losses on average. Workers taking state jobs in computer and office and
administrative support occupations lost pay as well, but in lesser amounts. Women in
health-care support and life sciences positions, and men in engineering and
maintenance/repair positions, also took jobs with lower wages than their previous private
sector jobs. On the other hand, women in community and social service positions and
food preparation and serving jobs and male transportation workers saw significant wage
II-3
gains from taking state jobs. Wage differentials for transitions in other occupations were
not systematically positive or negative and could not be distinguished statistically from
zero change. The last column of the table shows the probability that the change was due
to chance, given the variation in wage changes among individual job transitions, with
bold font highlighting changes that are less than 10 percent likely if the differences were
random.
II-4
Table 1. Average Annual Wages in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers Moving from
Year-Round Private Sector to Year-Round Alaska State Government Jobs in the Same
Occupation, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired Differencesa
Occupation Code
Female
Occupations
Count
Average
annual
wage,
private
Average
annual
wage,
state
Average Probability
annual difference
wage
due to
change
chance
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37
39
41
43
53
All Occupations
Management
Business and Financial Operations
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Community and Social Services
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving Related
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Personal Care and Service
Sales and Related
Office and Administrative Support
Transportation and Material Moving
2,389
71
62
16
26
52
157
70
33
20
197
104
14
24
15
5
6
1,501
5
$41,795
78,089
59,460
54,239
61,139
55,782
41,663
75,794
44,419
32,045
63,833
38,268
41,588
24,219
25,802
31,474
30,627
34,940
32,731
$39,321 ($2,473)
66,772 (11,317)
53,805
(5,656)
51,293
(2,945)
58,707
(2,432)
48,598
(7,184)
45,281
3,618
65,620 (10,174)
49,442
5,024
38,682
6,638
62,994
(839)
35,212
(3,056)
44,579
2,991
28,842
4,623
26,200
398
29,167
(2,307)
33,869
3,242
32,189
(2,751)
35,733
3,002
0.0%
0.1%
8.4%
46.7%
69.5%
1.6%
0.1%
0.5%
19.7%
20.8%
64.5%
7.6%
41.6%
5.7%
86.9%
88.1%
52.2%
0.0%
82.0%
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37
39
43
47
49
53
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and Social Science
Community and Social
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Personal Care and Service
Office and Administrative Support
Construction Trades
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
Transportation and Material Moving
1,199
46
25
104
85
42
50
49
19
15
34
19
84
24
26
7
195
160
150
58
$56,649
85,731
72,041
56,492
74,583
59,568
43,649
94,796
47,238
47,560
78,661
31,814
45,321
39,291
28,542
44,557
35,491
73,382
57,191
44,045
$51,363
76,283
54,505
52,202
67,145
54,202
43,327
73,696
53,184
48,364
81,096
39,004
47,547
36,997
30,959
41,835
33,142
56,294
50,274
53,900
($5,286)
(9,448)
(17,536)
(4,290)
(7,438)
(5,366)
(322)
(21,100)
5,946
804
2,434
7,191
2,226
(2,294)
2,417
(2,723)
(2,349)
(17,088)
(6,917)
9,854
0.0%
8.4%
3.8%
1.0%
8.4%
17.7%
89.1%
0.0%
39.0%
81.8%
79.4%
12.3%
34.1%
49.3%
18.1%
69.4%
3.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.6%
Total
All Occupations
3,588 $46,759 $43,345 ($3,413)
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
0.0%
Male
II-5
Table 2 further refines the results by including only those workers who took jobs in the
same occupation without moving their residence to another community. About 12
percent of the workers making transitions from private to state government employment
moved in association with the change of jobs. The requirement that the worker not move
insures that the state position actually taken corresponds geographically to the private
sector labor market measured by the wage in the previous private job. Limiting the
comparison to jobs in the same community produces very similar results. If anything, the
wage losses are slightly larger and the wage gains in the few occupations with gains are
slightly smaller when physical moves are excluded.
II-6
Table 2. Average Annual Wages in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers Moving from
Year-Round Private Sector to Year-Round Alaska State Government Jobs in the Same
Occupation and Same Place, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired Differencesa
Occupation Code
Female
Occupations
Count
Average
annual
wage,
private
Average
annual
wage,
state
Average Probability
annual difference
wage
due to
change
chance
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37
39
41
43
53
All Occupations
Management
Business and Financial Operations
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Community and Social Services
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving Related
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Personal Care and Service
Sales and Related
Office and Administrative Support
Transportation and Material Moving
2,117
65
59
11
23
42
138
59
25
18
174
88
12
21
14
5
5
1,345
4
$41,843
79,573
59,258
54,867
58,586
58,771
41,293
76,011
45,004
30,641
63,847
38,047
42,992
24,745
26,115
31,474
30,254
35,017
29,533
$39,154 ($2,688)
66,856 (12,717)
53,367
(5,891)
52,303
(2,564)
59,183
596
49,919
(8,852)
44,540
3,246
65,824 (10,187)
47,191
2,187
38,201
7,560
62,570
(1,277)
35,537
(2,510)
45,354
2,362
28,821
4,076
26,718
603
29,167
(2,307)
31,666
1,412
32,123
(2,894)
40,273
10,740
0.0%
0.1%
8.1%
64.7%
92.4%
1.1%
0.4%
1.2%
63.3%
18.8%
51.7%
18.9%
57.6%
12.4%
81.7%
88.1%
80.4%
0.0%
42.5%
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37
39
43
47
49
53
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and Social Science
Community and Social
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Personal Care and Service
Office and Administrative Support
Construction Trades
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
Transportation and Material Moving
1,054
43
25
86
78
34
42
45
18
11
31
15
62
22
24
6
174
145
140
49
$57,536
86,386
72,041
56,709
75,490
64,141
46,041
94,533
48,101
43,240
76,566
30,147
47,233
38,374
28,890
42,562
36,062
71,669
57,516
46,348
$51,667
76,336
54,505
51,636
68,590
56,086
43,477
73,841
49,620
46,853
81,533
41,285
48,321
37,075
31,426
40,974
32,935
55,933
49,717
54,724
0.0%
8.1%
3.8%
0.6%
13.5%
7.7%
27.9%
0.0%
77.7%
33.9%
61.5%
3.6%
70.2%
71.5%
19.6%
84.6%
0.8%
0.0%
0.0%
3.1%
Male
($5,870)
(10,050)
(17,536)
(5,073)
(6,900)
(8,055)
(2,564)
(20,693)
1,519
3,613
4,967
11,138
1,089
(1,300)
2,535
(1,587)
(3,127)
(15,735)
(7,799)
8,376
Total
All Occupations
3,171 $47,059 $43,313
($3,746)
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
II-7
0.0%
Tables 3, 4, and 5 show the same comparisons as Table 2 but consider only job
transitions for residents of Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau, respectively. The results
for Anchorage (Table 3) roughly parallel those of the state as a whole. However, for
Anchorage residents, women taking protective service and arts/entertainment/media
positions earned more in the state jobs than in their previous private sector jobs. On the
other hand, Anchorage men in food preparation and serving jobs took large pay cuts
taking state jobs. Because there are fewer state employees in Fairbanks and a narrower
private sector economic base in Juneau, there were far fewer sector job transitions in
these communities to compare. In general, the wage differentials overall were somewhat
smaller, with the same occupations showing positive and negative differentials generally
as in the statewide results.
II-8
Table 3. Average Annual Wages in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers Moving from
Year-Round Private Sector to Year-Round Alaska State Government Jobs in the Same
Occupation in Anchorage, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired Differencesa
Occupation Code
Female
Count
Average
annual
wage,
state
Average Probability
annual difference
wage
due to
change
chance
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37
43
All Occupations
Management
Business and Financial Operations
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Community and Social Services
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving Related
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Office and Administrative Support
1,011
40
33
7
18
23
56
47
11
9
83
37
7
8
5
616
$43,336
85,976
60,340
48,533
59,320
64,655
41,150
79,019
49,299
31,457
62,496
36,417
34,769
23,186
34,008
34,387
$40,260 ($3,076)
71,502 (14,474)
59,188 (1,152)
51,191
2,659
57,063 (2,257)
55,520 (9,134)
41,965
815
64,455 (14,563)
51,890
2,592
42,328
10,871
64,384
1,888
37,898
1,481
42,518
7,748
28,639
5,453
31,347 (2,661)
31,005 (3,382)
0.0%
0.6%
70.2%
73.8%
77.0%
6.2%
57.0%
0.2%
69.6%
2.9%
42.7%
46.8%
7.8%
21.6%
34.8%
0.0%
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37
43
47
49
53
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and Social Science
Community and Social
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Office and Administrative Support
Construction Trades
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
Transportation and Material Moving
492
24
15
50
41
16
15
34
8
5
22
9
30
9
13
88
35
53
21
$58,530
87,465
76,481
54,276
81,393
83,129
50,866
101,345
31,468
42,705
73,673
29,048
44,964
48,532
31,500
35,919
68,872
53,919
38,457
$52,612
71,515
55,426
48,787
69,082
61,108
43,432
74,747
43,521
44,766
86,984
46,246
47,853
36,701
34,910
32,609
59,921
48,168
52,018
($5,918)
(15,950)
(21,055)
(5,489)
(12,311)
(22,020)
(7,434)
(26,599)
12,052
2,061
13,311
17,199
2,889
(11,831)
3,410
(3,310)
(8,950)
(5,751)
13,562
0.0%
4.7%
11.2%
0.4%
8.3%
0.6%
10.3%
0.0%
26.1%
78.0%
26.7%
0.1%
50.8%
0.5%
28.8%
2.5%
18.9%
1.8%
0.5%
1,503
$48,310
$44,303 ($4,006)
0.0%
Male
Total
Occupations
Average
annual
wage,
private
All Occupations
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
II-9
Table 4. Average Annual Wages in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers Moving from
Year-Round Private Sector to Year-Round Alaska State Government Jobs in the Same
Occupation in Fairbanks, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired Differencesa
Occupation Code
Occupations
Count
Average
annual
wage,
private
Average
annual
wage,
state
Average Probability
annual difference
wage
due to
change
chance
Female
11
19
21
23
29
31
33
35
37
43
All Occupations
Management
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Community and Social Services
Legal
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving Related
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Office and Administrative Support
348
11
7
29
4
23
9
4
4
6
234
$38,727
65,324
55,824
38,772
51,411
63,969
31,537
51,480
28,815
24,410
34,793
$37,875
56,700
43,413
47,488
80,921
54,379
31,768
50,892
34,056
22,046
33,657
($852)
(8,625)
(12,411)
8,715
29,510
(9,590)
231
(588)
5,241
(2,365)
(1,136)
34.3%
15.6%
24.2%
0.6%
9.1%
13.3%
97.4%
94.7%
42.5%
60.2%
18.6%
Male
All Occupations
Management
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and Social Science
Community and Social
Legal
Protective Service
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Office and Administrative Support
Construction Trades
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
Transportation and Material Moving
170
7
15
19
9
6
4
7
6
25
31
25
5
$58,272
93,009
65,237
68,653
50,629
37,856
74,828
49,635
23,629
32,145
78,347
54,587
52,555
$53,727
91,886
55,139
67,875
53,047
42,364
70,473
59,763
27,561
36,950
57,440
50,758
44,072
($4,544)
(1,123)
(10,098)
(778)
2,418
4,507
(4,355)
10,129
3,932
4,805
(20,907)
(3,829)
(8,483)
2.4%
95.0%
12.5%
91.1%
64.9%
28.1%
61.4%
18.2%
24.7%
13.8%
0.2%
43.7%
59.5%
All Occupations
518
$45,141
($2,064)
2.1%
11
15
17
19
21
23
33
37
43
47
49
53
Total
$43,078
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
II-10
Table 5. Average Annual Wages in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers Moving from
Year-Round Private Sector to Year-Round Alaska State Government Jobs in the Same
Occupation in Juneau, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired Differencesa
Occupation Code
Occupations
Count
Average
annual
wage,
private
Average
annual
wage,
state
Average
annual Probability
wage
difference
change
due to
chance
Female
11
13
19
21
23
29
31
43
All Occupations
Management
Business and Financial Operations
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Community and Social Services
Legal
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Office and Administrative Support
296
8
19
6
12
6
7
18
211
$40,136
69,165
58,743
46,425
38,584
72,979
57,816
54,591
35,049
$37,215
62,205
47,861
40,885
42,896
63,407
57,473
37,814
33,392
($2,921)
(6,960)
(10,883)
(5,540)
4,313
(9,572)
(343)
(16,777)
(1,656)
0.3%
32.1%
14.9%
48.2%
31.8%
16.3%
97.0%
0.1%
7.9%
Male
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Community and Social
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Protective Service
Office and Administrative Support
Construction Trades
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
Transportation and Material Moving
135
9
8
14
9
12
6
6
38
8
8
5
$52,492
80,942
67,379
51,743
86,154
43,368
43,686
52,581
36,074
69,534
68,653
48,982
$46,976
70,449
52,355
57,054
61,950
41,758
48,592
42,375
31,787
52,660
51,641
52,732
($5,516)
(10,493)
(15,025)
5,311
(24,205)
(1,610)
4,906
(10,206)
(4,287)
(16,874)
(17,012)
3,750
0.3%
41.0%
19.1%
17.9%
0.4%
74.9%
31.5%
25.1%
8.5%
25.7%
8.0%
61.8%
431
$44,006
$40,272
($3,733)
0.0%
11
13
15
17
21
27
33
43
47
49
53
Total
All Occupations
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
II-11
Tables 6 through 10 show the analogous set of results for wages of workers making
transitions from jobs in Alaska state government to jobs in the private sector. On
average, workers transitioning from state jobs to private sector jobs experienced
significant wage gains in most occupations. However, there were some exceptions.
Women’s earnings in food preparation and serving in the private sector were
substantially less—about 40 percent lower— than in their previous state food
preparation jobs. However, only 13 workers in 15 years made this transition, so it is not
clear that this figure represents the labor market overall. For men, protective service and
transportation workers made substantially less in the private sector. The overall pattern
of results (Table 6) changes little when job transitions associated with moves between
communities are excluded (Table 7).
II-12
Table 6. Average Annual Wages in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers Moving from
Year-Round Alaska State Government to Year-Round Private Sector Jobs in the Same
Occupation, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired Differencesa
Occupation Code
Occupations
Count
Average
annual
wage,
state
Average
annual
wage,
private
Average Probability
annual difference
wage
due to
change
chance
Female
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37
41
43
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and Social Science
Community and Social
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Sales
Office and Administrative Support
1,053 $43,532
51 70,504
42 56,472
12 55,132
13 55,948
43 50,412
38 48,460
92 55,224
30 43,908
4 44,832
100 58,736
60 32,764
8 43,644
13 39,468
5 31,520
5 31,904
531 35,060
$51,636
82,804
69,464
61,764
76,896
73,320
46,836
89,124
48,236
52,712
64,776
32,760
36,340
21,080
25,332
38,488
39,672
$8,104
12,300
12,988
6,632
20,948
22,908
(1,624)
33,900
4,332
7,880
6,040
(4)
(7,304)
(18,388)
(6,188)
6,584
4,612
0.0%
0.4%
0.0%
50.8%
4.5%
0.0%
55.9%
0.0%
39.9%
2.1%
7.8%
99.9%
67.2%
0.9%
45.6%
28.9%
0.0%
Male
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and Social Science
Community and Social
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Office and Administrative Support
Construction Trades
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
Production
Transportation and Material Moving
649 $63,084
48 80,476
17 65,828
60 56,760
62 74,880
29 64,004
13 52,772
87 60,012
8 63,000
4 39,944
27 93,648
9 45,800
52 71,488
5 34,076
9 33,552
52 36,932
67 65,836
48 62,644
21 55,588
27 64,624
$76,280
99,320
72,056
80,352
95,056
77,460
55,396
92,972
49,580
43,888
104,720
44,280
55,216
44,316
28,932
46,072
84,484
78,184
58,536
54,288
$13,196
18,844
6,228
23,592
20,180
13,452
2,628
32,960
(13,420)
3,944
11,072
(1,520)
(16,272)
10,244
(4,624)
9,140
18,648
15,540
2,948
(10,336)
0.0%
0.0%
44.0%
0.0%
0.0%
4.5%
59.7%
0.0%
43.9%
19.7%
29.7%
79.9%
0.0%
60.3%
54.3%
0.4%
0.3%
0.0%
37.5%
8.4%
1,707 $50,980
$61,100
$10,120
0.0%
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37
43
47
49
51
53
Total
All Occupations
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
II-13
Table 7. Average Annual Wages in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers Moving from
Year-Round Alaska State Government to Year-Round Private Sector Jobs in the Same
Occupation and Same Place, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired Differencesa
Occupation Code
Occupations
Count
Average
annual
wage,
state
Average
annual
wage,
private
Average
annual
wage
change
Probability
difference
due to
chance
Female
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37
41
43
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and Social Science
Community and Social
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Sales
Office and Administrative Support
917 $43,285
46
70,502
39
56,795
11
56,148
13
55,948
37
50,336
30
45,984
59
57,551
26
40,143
4
44,830
88
58,681
50
32,483
7
48,828
12
40,009
5
31,519
4
29,702
480
35,170
$51,186
83,964
69,337
67,287
76,896
71,804
47,467
94,899
44,688
52,711
65,178
32,496
38,507
21,523
25,331
32,026
39,852
$7,901
13,462
12,542
11,139
20,948
21,469
1,483
37,347
4,545
7,880
6,497
13
(10,321)
(18,486)
(6,189)
2,325
4,681
0.0%
0.4%
0.0%
25.9%
4.5%
0.0%
61.0%
0.0%
40.8%
2.1%
6.1%
99.6%
60.4%
1.5%
45.6%
57.4%
0.0%
Male
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and Social Science
Community and Social
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Office and Administrative Support
Construction Trades
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
Production
Transportation and Material Moving
529 $64,466
42
81,661
15
65,817
47
57,507
55
76,260
23
67,748
11
48,590
52
67,003
6
37,018
23
97,939
6
47,087
36
73,576
5
34,074
8
34,036
46
37,503
61
66,709
41
63,980
20
54,553
25
64,193
$77,454
100,678
70,615
80,373
94,691
81,556
52,508
102,020
41,221
112,482
44,394
55,068
44,317
28,261
46,287
86,006
79,000
56,436
57,075
$12,988
19,017
4,798
22,866
18,432
13,808
3,918
35,017
4,204
14,543
(2,692)
(18,508)
10,243
(5,776)
8,784
19,297
15,020
1,883
(7,117)
0.0%
0.0%
59.6%
0.0%
0.0%
8.8%
46.1%
0.0%
77.6%
22.7%
41.8%
0.0%
60.3%
50.3%
0.8%
0.5%
0.1%
56.6%
21.5%
1446 $51,034
$60,796
$9,762
0.0%
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
29
31
33
35
37
43
47
49
51
53
Total
All Occupations
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
II-14
The wage gains after moves from state employment to the private sector become even
more consistent when considering only transitions for residents of communities with the
largest labor markets: Anchorage (Table 8), Fairbanks (Table 9), and Juneau (Table 10).
Male residents of Anchorage in protective service occupations and female residents of
Juneau in management jobs earned significantly less in the private sector, but all other
transitions were associated with either a significant wage gain or a change that was not
statistically distinguishable from no change. The largest gains were found in Anchorage,
the community with the largest and most robust private sector labor market. On average,
Anchorage residents gained $13,000 from the move to a private sector job, a wage gain
of 25 percent.
II-15
Table 8. Average Annual Wages in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers Moving from
Year-Round Alaska State Government to Year-Round Private Sector Jobs in the Same
Occupation in Anchorage, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired Differencesa
Occupation Code
Occupations
Count
Average Average Average
annual
annual
annual
wage,
wage,
wage
state
private change
Probability
difference
due to
chance
Female
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
29
31
43
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and Social Science
Community and Social
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Office and Administrative Support
468
34
25
5
7
18
17
50
8
46
23
227
$45,771 $56,971
70,317 89,007
56,664 71,363
60,413 73,568
59,745 67,058
56,704 81,662
46,118 47,811
57,276 98,683
42,995 38,124
63,035 67,877
37,483 35,164
34,314 40,672
$11,200
18,690
14,699
13,155
7,313
24,958
1,692
41,406
(4,871)
4,841
(2,319)
6,358
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
6.1%
58.1%
1.9%
63.5%
0.0%
62.7%
35.5%
60.0%
0.0%
Male
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and Social Science
Community and Social
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Protective Service
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Office and Administrative Support
Construction Trades
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
Production
Transportation and Material Moving
255
26
11
21
33
13
4
37
5
14
16
4
18
11
15
11
12
$66,160 $83,345
76,584 99,046
64,937 76,818
56,740 78,041
78,468 94,773
58,832 83,186
51,042 52,626
67,497 109,252
37,747 48,574
102,616 144,044
75,037 58,997
28,416 26,785
40,396 48,799
65,874 72,862
65,295 83,620
55,123 51,959
60,745 57,878
$17,185
22,462
11,880
21,300
16,304
24,354
1,584
41,754
10,828
41,428
(16,040)
(1,632)
8,402
6,989
18,325
(3,164)
(2,867)
0.0%
0.3%
7.1%
0.0%
1.9%
2.7%
87.7%
0.0%
50.6%
0.2%
2.9%
86.9%
13.3%
36.4%
0.1%
12.7%
44.1%
723
$52,962 $66,273
$13,311
0.0%
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
29
33
37
43
47
49
51
53
Total
All Occupations
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
II-16
Table 9. Average Annual Wages in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers Moving from
Year-Round Alaska State Government to Year-Round Private Sector Jobs in the Same
Occupation in Fairbanks, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired Differencesa
Occupation Code
Occupations
Female
11
13
17
19
21
23
25
29
31
43
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and Social Science
Community and Social
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Office and Administrative Support
Male
All Occupations
Management
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Legal
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Office and Administrative Support
Construction Trades
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
11
15
17
23
29
43
47
49
Total
All Occupations
Count
142
4
4
5
8
5
4
11
7
9
69
76
7
10
5
5
4
6
17
7
218
Average
annual
wage,
state
Average
annual
wage,
private
$41,353 $46,308
71,482
99,492
58,578
68,662
54,395
92,863
42,265
70,159
39,675
44,227
70,111
79,144
33,604
51,958
61,146
56,847
27,541
24,926
36,111
37,196
Average Probability
annual difference
wage
due to
change
chance
$4,955
28,011
10,084
38,468
27,895
4,552
9,033
18,354
(4,299)
(2,615)
1,085
1.5%
25.3%
10.7%
6.2%
0.5%
32.0%
56.8%
1.1%
70.6%
62.3%
65.6%
$69,275 $78,152
$8,877
101,934 121,705
19,770
68,934
82,157
13,223
73,829
96,834
23,005
65,228
53,682 (11,546)
109,549
72,370 (37,179)
29,765
29,260
(505)
69,809
89,843
20,035
65,408
81,093
15,686
8.7%
2.4%
11.7%
14.4%
30.3%
42.2%
94.4%
28.2%
32.2%
$51,087 $57,410
$6,322
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
II-17
0.5%
Table 10. Average Annual Wages in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers Moving from
Year-Round Alaska State Government to Year-Round Private Sector Jobs in the Same
Occupation in Juneau, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired Differencesa
Occupation Code
Occupations
Female
11
13
19
29
31
43
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Life, Physical and Social Science
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Office and Administrative Support
Male
All Occupations
Management
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Office and Administrative Support
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
11
15
17
43
49
Total
All Occupations
Count
Average
annual
wage,
state
Average
annual
wage,
private
Average
annual
wage
change
Probability
difference
due to
chance
116
6
10
5
5
5
75
$42,064
76,044
56,408
48,531
60,045
30,181
36,548
$43,814
53,423
64,543
74,258
54,464
37,807
38,353
$1,750
(22,621)
8,135
25,727
(5,581)
7,626
1,805
34.7%
2.2%
32.5%
1.8%
54.8%
44.0%
35.1%
60
7
7
8
12
6
$55,377
76,179
55,729
75,410
33,659
49,280
$67,827
77,279
95,184
93,795
45,396
51,383
$12,450
1,100
39,455
18,386
11,736
2,102
0.9%
86.7%
0.3%
22.2%
8.4%
86.2%
176
$46,603
$52,000
$5,398
0.8%
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
II-18
Results: Estimated Average Annual Total Compensation
Using the national average multipliers for the value of employee benefits, we compared
changes in total annual compensation in the private sector to annual compensation in
state employment of workers moving from state jobs to private sector jobs and those
moving from private to state jobs. On average over the past 15 years, total
compensation of workers leaving private sector jobs for jobs in Alaska state government
in the same occupation rose by an average of two percent after the transition. Men
experienced a two percent loss in the value of wages and benefits from transition to
state jobs, but women saw compensation gains of 3.5 percent. On the other hand, both
men and women leaving Alaska state government jobs to take private sector jobs in the
same occupation experienced large gains on average in the value of wages plus
benefits. Total compensation was 9 percent higher in the private sector jobs taken than
in the state jobs left behind. Differentials for men were again larger than for women.
Private over state compensation differentials were 11 percent for men and 6 percent for
women leaving state jobs for private sector jobs (Figure 4).
Figure 4.
Percentage wage plus benefits differential,
private over state
Average Private Over State Compensation Differentials
for Workers Moving Between Alaska State Government
and Private Sector Jobs in the Same Occupation
15.0%
10.8%
10.0%
8.6%
6.4%
5.0%
1.9%
0.0%
Female
-5.0%
Male
All Workers
-1.3%
-3.5%
Private to state transitions
State to private transitions
When we considered the compensation differentials separately by occupation, the
results, shown in Table 11, present a decidedly mixed picture. Women and men both
received substantially less compensation in management, legal, science, and business
and financial operations jobs, although variation among individuals meant that the
change was not statistically significant for women in business and financial jobs and for
men in science occupations. However, protective service, health-care support, food
service, building and grounds maintenance, office, and male transportation workers
earned higher salary and benefits in state jobs than in their previous private sector jobs.
Workers in community service, and education-related occupations, also earned
somewhat more in wages plus benefits after taking state government jobs, but the
differences were statistically significant only for women in community service
occupations.
II-19
Table 11. Average Annual Wages plus Benefits in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers
Moving from Year-Round Private Sector to Year-Round Alaska State Government Jobs
in the Same Occupation, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired Differencesa
Occupation Code
Occupations
Count
Average
annual
wage,
private
Average
annual
wage,
state
Average
annual
wage
change
Probability
difference
due to
chance
Female
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37
41
43
All Occupations
Management
Business and Financial Operations
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Community and Social Services
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving Related
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Sales and Related
Office and Administrative Support
2,451
68
61
16
29
55
173
72
32
21
204
107
14
23
14
4
1,546
$60,276
119,080
83,840
77,560
89,808
80,292
60,780
110,280
62,892
45,976
91,168
50,612
54,896
33,560
34,168
45,224
50,492
$62,376
101,224
76,764
75,460
86,936
71,496
67,116
97,588
71,912
57,000
92,544
59,764
75,388
49,940
47,704
53,568
53,292
$2,100
(17,856)
(7,076)
(2,104)
(2,872)
(8,796)
6,336
(12,688)
9,020
11,024
1,376
9,152
20,492
16,380
13,536
8,348
2,796
0.0%
0.1%
13.4%
71.6%
73.7%
2.9%
0.0%
1.2%
12.2%
12.9%
59.5%
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
0.1%
45.8%
0.0%
Male
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and science
Community and Social
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Personal Care and Service
Office and Administrative Support
Construction Trades
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
Transportation and Material Moving
1,228
47
27
106
89
40
50
51
19
16
35
22
89
24
28
6
202
166
159
50
$80,864
128,572
102,876
81,048
105,512
84,796
62,200
134,700
67,552
69,272
113,632
44,428
58,972
51,864
37,272
56,180
50,988
105,972
80,292
62,708
$79,316
113,716
80,132
77,108
98,060
80,704
63,584
108,224
78,548
72,248
117,848
65,752
80,824
63,060
52,892
69,440
54,480
87,160
77,196
86,748
($1,552)
(14,856)
(22,740)
(3,936)
(7,452)
(4,092)
1,388
(26,476)
10,996
2,976
4,220
21,324
21,848
11,196
15,620
13,256
3,492
(18,812)
(3,096)
24,040
19.4%
6.0%
4.1%
9.3%
21.6%
47.3%
68.2%
0.1%
27.9%
52.4%
75.4%
0.2%
0.0%
2.7%
0.0%
28.7%
2.9%
0.0%
24.3%
0.0%
All Occupations
3,685
$67,140
$68,004
$864
11.4%
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37
39
43
47
49
53
Total
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
II-20
In general, the results by occupation showed compensation gains for workers moving
from private to state jobs in most lower-wage occupations and losses in compensation
for workers taking state jobs in higher-wage occupations. Limiting the comparisons to
workers remaining in the same community when changing sectors (Table 12) makes
little difference in the results, but slightly reduces the net public sector advantage.
Overall, the average compensation gain from moving to state jobs was 1.4 percent.
Another way to look at local labor markets is to consider transitions where both jobs are
in the same community, although the workers might have moved or be working remotely.
Table 13 shows the same results as Table 12, but controlling for place of work rather
than place of residence. Although the magnitude of the average wage changes were
similar and the pattern of occupational differences were similar, there were some
differences from the place of residence table in the magnitude of wage changes. In
particular, wage gains from moving to state jobs in health-care support and office
occupations were lower in the same place of work than controlling for place of residence.
Men working in private sector transportation jobs who took state jobs located in the
same community experienced much smaller gains than men taking state jobs who did
not move to a different community, apparently due to lower earnings in the private sector
for workers holding transportation jobs away from their place of residence.
II-21
Table 12. Average Annual Wages plus Benefits in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers
Moving from Year-Round Private Sector to Year-Round Alaska State Government Jobs
in the Same Occupation and Same Place of Residence, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired
Differencesa
Occupation Code
Occupations
Count
Average
annual
wage,
private
Average
annual
wage,
state
Average
annual
wage
change
Probability
difference
due to
chance
Female
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37
39
41
43
53
All Occupations
Management
Business and Financial Operations
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Community and Social Services
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving Related
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Personal Care and Service
Sales and Related
Office and Administrative Support
Transportation and Material Moving
2,117
65
59
11
23
42
138
59
25
18
174
88
12
21
14
5
5
1,345
4
$60,064
114,585
85,332
78,460
83,779
84,043
59,050
108,696
64,355
43,817
91,301
50,222
56,749
32,663
34,471
41,546
42,355
50,775
42,232
$62,413
99,615
79,516
77,409
87,591
73,880
65,919
97,419
69,842
56,538
92,603
60,769
77,555
49,283
45,688
49,876
52,881
53,646
62,826
$2,349
(14,969)
(5,815)
(1,051)
3,812
(10,162)
6,869
(11,276)
5,487
12,721
1,302
10,546
20,806
16,621
11,216
8,330
10,526
2,871
20,593
0.0%
0.4%
23.2%
89.5%
67.4%
3.8%
0.0%
4.8%
40.8%
12.9%
64.6%
0.0%
0.4%
0.0%
1.0%
73.1%
24.6%
0.0%
33.4%
Male
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and Social Science
Community and Social
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Personal Care and Service
Office and Administrative Support
Construction Trades
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
Transportation and Material Moving
1,054
43
25
86
78
34
42
45
18
11
31
15
62
22
24
6
174
145
140
49
$81,908
124,396
103,739
81,094
107,951
91,721
65,838
135,183
68,784
61,834
109,489
39,794
62,347
50,654
38,135
56,181
52,290
102,486
82,249
66,277
$80,088
113,741
81,212
76,421
101,513
83,007
64,346
109,285
73,438
69,343
120,669
70,597
82,629
63,398
53,738
70,066
55,001
87,256
77,559
85,370
$(1,819)
(10,656)
(22,527)
(4,672)
(6,438)
(8,714)
(1,492)
(25,898)
4,654
7,509
11,180
30,803
20,282
12,744
15,603
13,885
2,711
(15,230)
(4,690)
19,092
15.6%
19.5%
6.2%
7.2%
32.9%
17.1%
65.9%
0.1%
55.2%
17.6%
44.7%
0.1%
0.0%
2.1%
0.0%
26.9%
12.4%
0.1%
9.4%
0.1%
Total
All Occupations
3,177 $67,314 $68,258
$945
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
10.7%
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37
39
43
47
49
53
II-22
Table 13. Average Annual Wages plus Benefits in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers
Moving from Year-Round Private Sector to Year-Round Alaska State Government Jobs
in the Same Occupation and Same Place of Work, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired
Differencesa
Occupation Code
Occupations
Count
Average
annual
wage,
private
Average
annual
wage,
state
Average
annual
wage
change
Probability
difference
due to
chance
Female
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37
41
43
All Occupations
Management
Business and Financial Operations
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Community and Social Services
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving Related
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Sales and Related
Office and Administrative Support
2,113
58
51
12
22
40
146
60
27
17
161
89
11
23
12
4
1,372
$59,892
121,844
79,664
79,608
95,064
84,500
61,228
111,992
60,152
45,956
93,484
53,588
58,784
33,560
34,116
45,224
50,116
$62,040
102,072
79,228
74,448
85,060
74,052
66,864
99,280
64,080
56,304
91,872
62,052
78,728
49,940
48,864
53,568
53,408
$2,152
(19,772)
(440)
(5,160)
(10,004)
(10,448)
5,636
(12,716)
3,928
10,348
(1,612)
8,464
19,944
16,380
14,744
8,348
3,292
0.0%
0.1%
90.7%
16.8%
30.3%
3.5%
0.1%
2.4%
52.7%
19.4%
56.9%
0.2%
0.9%
0.0%
0.1%
45.8%
0.0%
Male
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and science
Community and Social
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Personal Care and Service
Office and Administrative Support
Construction Trades
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
Transportation and Material Moving
937
34
27
88
69
28
41
43
16
12
30
18
49
20
25
6
179
105
116
30
$79,480
122,144
102,876
80,804
107,704
89,116
63,912
131,236
67,068
67,076
114,556
45,444
59,776
51,056
37,376
56,180
50,152
101,664
82,812
51,888
$77,824
112,688
80,132
77,688
98,476
81,596
62,636
105,216
70,388
70,312
122,372
70,076
80,020
62,568
54,108
69,440
54,332
84,620
76,380
84,756
($1,656)
(9,456)
(22,740)
(3,116)
(9,228)
(7,520)
(1,276)
(26,016)
3,320
3,240
7,816
24,632
20,244
11,512
16,732
13,256
4,180
(17,044)
(6,432)
32,868
21.5%
18.6%
4.1%
23.7%
17.9%
29.3%
70.6%
0.2%
69.9%
60.9%
59.2%
0.1%
0.0%
3.0%
0.0%
28.7%
0.9%
0.3%
3.1%
0.0%
3,055
$65,880
$66,860
$980
8.4%
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37
39
43
47
49
53
Total
All Occupations
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
II-23
The mixed pattern of wage differentials persisted when we considered the communities
with the largest number of state employees. Women and men living in Anchorage
earned significantly less in state management and legal positions compared with their
previous private sector jobs (Table 14), but significantly more in health-care support,
protective service, and building and grounds maintenance jobs. Male transportation
workers earned more in state government, but computer workers and scientists earned
less. Female food preparation, office, and arts and entertainment workers earned more
in state jobs. Declines in compensation for workers changing from private to state legal
jobs located in Anchorage (Table 15) were substantially greater than declines for legal
workers living in Anchorage but not necessarily working there (Table 14). Men working in
Anchorage private sector transportation jobs who took state jobs also experienced much
smaller compensation gains than Anchorage resident men taking state jobs who did not
move.
II-24
Table 14. Average Annual Wages plus Benefits in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers
Moving from Year-Round Private Sector to Year-Round Alaska State Government Jobs
in the Same Occupation, Anchorage Residents, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired
Differencesa
Occupation Code
Occupations
Count
Average
annual
wage,
private
Average
annual
wage,
state
Average
annual
wage
change
Probability
difference
due to
chance
Female
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37
43
All Occupations
Management
Business and Financial Operations
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Community and Social Services
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving Related
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Office and Administrative Support
1,011
40
33
7
18
23
56
47
11
9
83
37
7
8
5
616
$62,220
123,805
86,890
69,401
84,828
92,456
58,845
112,997
70,497
44,984
89,369
48,070
45,895
30,606
44,891
49,861
$63,746
106,538
88,190
75,763
84,454
82,170
62,109
95,394
76,798
62,646
95,289
64,806
72,705
48,973
53,604
51,779
$1,526
(17,267)
1,301
6,362
(374)
(10,286)
3,264
(17,603)
6,301
17,662
5,919
16,736
26,810
18,367
8,713
1,918
10.0%
2.2%
76.7%
58.2%
97.3%
13.4%
11.7%
0.7%
51.0%
1.7%
8.4%
0.0%
0.3%
1.9%
3.0%
8.2%
Male
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and Social Science
Community and Social
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Office and Administrative Support
Construction Trades
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
Transportation and Material Moving
492
24
15
50
41
16
15
34
8
5
22
9
30
9
13
88
35
53
21
$83,306
125,950
110,133
77,615
116,392
118,874
72,738
144,924
45,000
61,069
105,352
38,343
59,352
64,062
41,580
52,083
98,486
77,103
54,993
$81,264
106,558
82,584
72,205
102,242
90,441
64,279
110,625
64,411
66,254
128,736
79,081
81,829
62,759
59,696
54,457
93,478
75,141
81,149
$(2,042)
(19,393)
(27,548)
(5,410)
(14,150)
(28,434)
(8,459)
(34,299)
19,411
5,186
23,384
40,739
22,477
(1,303)
18,116
2,374
(5,009)
(1,962)
26,155
30.5%
8.5%
14.4%
4.8%
15.9%
0.9%
18.8%
0.1%
22.2%
62.6%
19.4%
0.0%
0.1%
79.0%
0.3%
28.3%
61.1%
57.9%
0.0%
1,503
$69,123
$69,481
$358
69.1%
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37
43
47
49
53
Total
All Occupations
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
II-25
Table 15. Average Annual Wages plus Benefits in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers
Moving from Year-Round Private Sector to Year-Round Alaska State Government Jobs
Located in Anchorage in the Same Occupation, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired
Differencesa
Occupation Code
Occupations
Count
Average
annual
wage,
private
Average
annual
wage,
state
Average Probability
annual difference
wage
due to
change
chance
Female
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37
43
All Occupations
Management
Business and Financial Operations
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Community and Social Services
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving Related
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Office and Administrative Support
1,100
39
29
9
17
28
69
48
13
8
93
45
7
8
6
675
$61,608
132,616
84,616
73,796
85,240
90,240
59,120
117,488
70,416
42,432
90,860
49,800
53,544
28,684
40,752
48,384
$63,212
107,996
84,092
70,680
82,344
78,496
62,136
97,752
75,156
62,076
95,044
65,228
74,780
48,216
51,588
51,532
$1,604
(24,624)
(524)
(3,116)
(2,896)
(11,748)
3,012
(19,740)
4,736
19,644
4,184
15,428
21,236
19,532
10,836
3,148
4.5%
0.4%
90.5%
43.3%
77.0%
5.6%
15.7%
0.2%
55.3%
1.3%
20.6%
0.0%
4.0%
1.1%
1.9%
0.0%
Male
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and science
Community and Social
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Office and Administrative Support
Construction Trades
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
Transportation and Material Moving
521
21
19
55
35
16
16
34
8
6
27
15
29
7
15
96
36
65
18
$81,512
118,900
105,336
78,360
123,292
112,196
68,288
138,284
45,000
71,680
110,132
40,028
56,500
62,092
40,308
51,808
95,660
79,632
50,988
$79,572
107,064
81,028
74,052
103,896
87,580
62,352
105,952
64,016
69,348
126,712
67,804
77,860
62,328
58,824
53,648
85,052
78,164
83,260
($1,940)
(11,836)
(24,308)
(4,312)
(19,396)
(24,612)
(5,940)
(32,332)
19,016
(2,332)
16,580
27,776
21,360
232
18,516
1,840
(10,608)
(1,468)
32,272
30.7%
13.9%
10.0%
10.1%
11.3%
1.9%
32.5%
0.2%
23.1%
84.2%
28.0%
0.2%
0.2%
97.1%
0.1%
36.0%
29.4%
66.4%
0.0%
1,623
$67,956
$68,424
$468
56.6%
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37
43
47
49
53
Total
All Occupations
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
II-26
In Fairbanks (Table 16), male construction workers lost ground when they took state
jobs, but female office workers gained compensation. Comparing compensation
changes for place of work to change by place of residence, it appears that compensation
gains for women changing from private to state jobs located in Fairbanks (Table 17)
gained more compared to Fairbanks resident women changing sectors in the same
occupations, while male state to private wage differentials were generally lower for
Fairbanks jobs than for jobs held by Fairbanks residents.
In Juneau labor markets, male residents of Juneau taking state engineering jobs earned
less than they had earned from private sector employers, but men taking computer jobs
and women taking office jobs earned more from the state (Table 18). Because most
people living in Juneau worked there, there is little difference in the pattern of
differentials between the results tabulated by place of work (Table 19) and results
tabulated by place of residence (Table 18).
II-27
Table 16. Average Annual Wages plus Benefits in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers
Moving from Year-Round Private Sector to Year-Round Alaska State Government Jobs
in the Same Occupation, Fairbanks Residents, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired
Differencesa
Occupation Code
Occupations
Count
Average
Average
Average Probability
annual
annual
annual difference
wage, wage, state
wage
due to
private
change
chance
Female
11
19
21
23
29
31
33
35
37
43
All Occupations
Management
Life, Physical and Social Science
Community and Social
Legal
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving Related
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Office and Administrative Support
348
11
7
29
4
23
9
4
4
6
234
$55,624
94,067
79,828
55,445
73,517
91,475
41,628
67,954
38,036
32,222
50,450
$60,972
84,482
64,252
70,282
119,763
80,481
54,323
87,025
58,235
37,698
56,208
$5,348
(9,584)
(15,577)
14,837
46,245
(10,995)
12,694
19,071
20,200
5,476
5,758
0.0%
26.7%
30.1%
0.2%
7.6%
22.6%
24.7%
17.8%
11.2%
42.8%
0.0%
Male
All Occupations
Management
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and Social Science
Community and Social
Legal
Protective Service
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Office and Administrative Support
Construction Trades
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
Transportation and Material Moving
170
7
15
19
9
6
4
7
6
25
31
25
5
$83,024
133,933
93,289
98,174
72,400
54,135
107,004
65,518
31,190
46,610
112,036
78,059
75,154
$83,192
136,911
81,605
100,456
78,509
62,698
104,300
102,195
47,129
61,706
89,606
79,182
68,753
$168
2,977
(11,684)
2,282
6,110
8,563
(2,704)
36,678
15,940
15,096
(22,430)
1,123
(6,401)
95.4%
90.9%
21.0%
82.1%
42.6%
17.1%
82.6%
0.8%
0.8%
0.5%
1.7%
87.4%
78.9%
All Occupations
518
$64,616
$68,264
$3,648
0.6%
11
15
17
19
21
23
33
37
43
47
49
53
Total
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
II-28
Table 17. Average Annual Wages plus Benefits in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers
Moving from Year-Round Private Sector to Year-Round Alaska State Government Jobs
in Fairbanks in the Same Occupation, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired Differencesa
Occupation Code
Occupations
Count
Average
Average
Average
annual
annual
annual
wage, wage, state wage
private
change
Probability
difference
due to
chance
Female
11
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
43
All Occupations
Management
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Community and Social Services
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Office and Administrative Support
345
8
6
30
5
4
5
22
8
4
235
$57,356
101,332
86,276
60,536
78,124
49,564
38,996
92,364
39,172
67,952
52,292
$61,204
85,612
61,864
69,620
115,648
43,016
41,096
80,412
50,420
85,636
56,284
$3,848
(15,720)
(24,412)
9,084
37,524
(6,552)
2,100
(11,952)
11,248
17,684
3,992
0.8%
16.0%
11.2%
1.8%
8.5%
86.5%
76.5%
21.7%
36.3%
22.1%
0.9%
Male
All Occupations
Management
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and science
Community and Social
Legal
Protective Service
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Office and Administrative Support
Construction Trades
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
150
6
15
19
9
7
4
8
7
23
21
20
$78,192
124,668
97,660
84,176
60,488
56,888
107,004
72,328
32,744
42,644
108,376
81,904
$80,780
137,796
84,612
97,200
74,564
63,144
102,724
98,736
48,196
59,648
84,920
76,128
$2,588
13,128
(13,048)
13,028
14,076
6,256
(4,280)
26,408
15,452
17,004
(23,456)
(5,776)
38.2%
54.4%
17.7%
11.0%
7.0%
26.0%
71.5%
1.8%
0.3%
0.1%
8.2%
44.0%
All Occupations
495
$63,668
$67,136
$3,468
1.0%
11
15
17
19
21
23
33
37
43
47
49
Total
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
II-29
Table 18. Average Annual Wages plus Benefits in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers
Moving from Year-Round Private Sector to Year-Round Alaska State Government Jobs
in the Same Occupation, Juneau Residents, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired
Differencesa
Occupation Code
Occupations
Count
Average
annual
wage,
private
Average
annual
wage,
state
Average Probability
annual difference
wage
due to
change
chance
Female
11
13
19
21
23
29
31
43
All Occupations
Management
Business and Financial Operations
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Community and Social Services
Legal
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Office and Administrative Support
296
8
19
6
12
6
7
18
211
$57,565
99,598
84,591
66,388
55,175
104,360
82,676
72,060
50,820
$60,236
92,685
71,312
60,510
63,487
93,843
85,060
64,661
55,765
$2,671
(6,913)
(13,278)
(5,878)
8,312
(10,517)
2,383
(7,398)
4,944
5.9%
49.0%
22.0%
60.3%
19.2%
26.0%
85.7%
25.6%
0.1%
Male
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Community and Social
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Protective Service
Office and Administrative Support
Construction Trades
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
Transportation and Material Moving
135
9
8
14
9
12
6
6
38
8
8
5
$74,997
116,557
97,026
73,992
123,201
62,016
62,472
69,406
52,307
99,434
98,174
70,044
$72,665
104,969
78,008
84,439
91,686
61,802
71,916
72,461
53,085
82,150
80,560
82,262
$(2,332)
(11,588)
(19,018)
10,447
(31,515)
(215)
9,445
3,054
778
(17,284)
(17,614)
12,218
37.5%
52.8%
24.7%
7.4%
0.6%
97.7%
19.5%
77.5%
82.5%
40.5%
17.5%
30.8%
431
$63,025
$64,129
$1,104
38.5%
11
13
15
17
21
27
33
43
47
49
53
Total
All Occupations
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
II-30
Table 19. Average Annual Wages plus Benefits in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers
Moving from Year-Round Private Sector to Year-Round Alaska State Government Jobs
in Juneau in the Same Occupation, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired Differencesa
Occupation Code
Occupations
Count
Average
annual
wage,
private
Average
annual
wage,
state
Average
annual
wage
change
Probability
difference
due to
chance
Female
11
13
21
23
29
31
43
All Occupations
Management
Business and Financial Operations
Community and Social Services
Legal
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Office and Administrative Support
314
8
16
14
5
7
20
231
$57,084
99,596
79,436
54,812
101,488
79,128
72,960
50,104
$59,732
92,108
73,772
65,272
93,148
82,324
59,680
55,136
$2,648
(7,488)
(5,664)
10,460
(8,344)
3,200
(13,280)
5,032
4.9%
45.5%
48.8%
2.8%
45.7%
80.9%
2.7%
0.0%
Male
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Community and Social
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Protective Service
Office and Administrative Support
Construction Trades
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
Transportation and Material Moving
141
7
8
16
13
12
6
5
42
8
6
5
$72,300
129,712
97,024
70,984
104,684
62,016
62,472
55,800
48,696
103,792
93,056
74,032
$72,744
108,040
78,008
84,416
88,376
61,380
71,280
69,224
54,204
83,912
77,024
90,156
$444
(21,672)
(19,016)
13,432
(16,308)
(636)
8,808
13,428
5,508
(19,880)
(16,036)
16,124
85.9%
32.7%
24.7%
1.8%
7.6%
93.0%
23.3%
16.6%
5.5%
34.8%
36.4%
25.0%
455
$61,800
$63,764
$1,968
10.2%
11
13
15
17
21
27
33
43
47
49
53
Total
All Occupations
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
II-31
The mixed pattern of compensation differentials by occupation continued when we
looked at transitions from state jobs to private sector jobs (Table 20). With state to
private transitions, however, the balance tilts more toward higher private sector pay.
The results show significant gains in total compensation for both women and men who
moved from state to private jobs in management, engineering, science, and legal
occupations. Private sector jobs offered less compensation in health-care support and
building and grounds maintenance occupations. Women earned more in private
business operations and financial jobs and less in food service jobs. Men earned more in
private sector computer, construction, transportation, and installation and maintenance
jobs. Male health-care practitioners earned less in the private sector. Compensation
differentials by occupation are not consistently different between men and women.
Nevertheless, a higher share of men are concentrated in management, engineering,
computer, and legal occupations, where the private sector pay is considerably higher
than in state government, leading to larger overall compensation differentials for men.
II-32
Table 20. Average Annual Wages plus Benefits in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers
Moving from Year-Round Alaska State Government to Year-Round Private Sector Jobs
in the Same Occupation, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired Differencesa
Occupation Code
Occupations
Count
Female
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37
41
43
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and science
Community and Social
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Sales
Office and Administrative Support
1,106
53
43
12
14
45
38
93
33
4
109
61
7
14
6
5
563
Male
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and science
Community and Social
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Office and Administrative Support
Construction Trades
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
Production
Transportation and Material Moving
682
48
18
64
73
28
13
89
8
4
28
9
54
6
9
52
76
50
21
30
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37
43
47
49
51
53
Total
All Occupations
1,793
Average
annual
wage,
state
$68,824
106,080
84,404
81,596
81,172
75,184
72,792
82,008
65,448
65,920
85,404
57,856
73,480
69,060
47,680
53,580
59,092
Average
annual
wage,
private
Average
annual
wage
change
Probability
difference
due to
chance
$73,252
119,420
98,944
86,940
107,260
102,752
66,948
126,600
68,792
74,316
91,380
44,224
46,300
30,276
37,944
53,660
56,932
$4,428
13,340
14,540
5,344
26,088
27,568
(5,844)
44,592
3,344
8,396
5,976
(13,632)
(27,180)
(38,784)
(9,736)
80
(2,160)
0.0%
0.3%
0.0%
54.3%
2.5%
0.0%
9.1%
0.0%
60.7%
29.0%
10.3%
0.0%
19.1%
0.0%
23.1%
99.2%
1.9%
$96,832 $107,280
123,692 144,268
97,964 105,196
81,928 111,552
109,424 128,936
95,476 111,856
77,832
78,784
88,020 130,948
93,240
70,296
59,120
62,760
137,808 147,292
80,920
57,764
121,800
72,628
58,960
54,780
57,376
37,912
61,556
65,724
101,004 117,860
96,868 111,216
86,720
82,440
97,404
73,588
$10,448
20,576
7,232
29,624
19,512
16,384
952
42,932
(22,944)
3,640
9,484
(23,156)
(49,172)
(4,184)
(19,464)
4,168
16,856
14,348
(4,276)
(23,816)
0.0%
0.4%
24.0%
0.0%
0.0%
4.6%
89.7%
0.0%
45.6%
82.8%
60.6%
1.4%
0.0%
72.8%
4.0%
42.8%
0.4%
0.0%
48.2%
0.0%
$6,832
0.0%
$79,492
$86,324
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
II-33
The patterns of occupational differences noted in Table 20 persisted when we limited the
analysis to transitions where workers remained in the same community when they
changed jobs (Table 21), and transitions where workers took new jobs in the same
community (Table 22). Private sector compensation was substantially higher in
management, engineering, science, and legal occupations for both women and men.
Private sector jobs offered less compensation in building and grounds maintenance
occupations. Women earned more in private business operations and financial jobs and
less in food service jobs. Men earned more in private sector computer, construction, and
installation and maintenance jobs, and less in transportation jobs. The main difference
between the tabulations where the place of residence did not change and those where
the place of work stayed the same is that the negative private sector compensation for
female office and administrative support workers is larger and statistically significant by
place of work.
II-34
Table 21. Average Annual Wages plus Benefits in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers
Moving from Year-Round Alaska State Government to Year-Round Private Sector Jobs
in the Same Occupation and Same Place of Residence, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired
Differencesa
Average
annual
wage,
state
Average
annual
wage,
private
Average
annual
wage
change
Probability
difference
due to
chance
Occupation Code
Occupations
Female
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37
41
43
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and Social Science
Community and Social
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Sales
Office and Administrative Support
917
46
39
11
13
37
30
59
26
4
88
50
7
12
5
4
480
$68,330
105,048
84,624
83,099
82,803
74,497
68,056
85,176
59,411
66,349
86,848
55,546
83,496
68,415
53,898
49,602
58,735
$73,398
120,909
99,846
96,220
109,961
102,680
67,878
135,705
63,903
75,376
93,204
42,895
50,829
28,411
33,436
44,837
57,785
$5,068
15,861
15,221
13,121
27,158
28,183
(178)
50,529
4,492
9,027
6,356
(12,651)
(32,667)
(40,004)
(20,462)
(4,765)
(950)
0.0%
0.3%
0.0%
18.3%
2.9%
0.0%
96.1%
0.0%
51.6%
24.2%
12.3%
0.1%
7.0%
0.1%
0.2%
61.3%
33.9%
Male
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and Social Science
Community and Social
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Office and Administrative Support
Construction Trades
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
Production
Transportation and Material Moving
529
42
15
47
55
23
11
52
6
23
6
36
5
8
46
61
41
20
25
$99,042
121,675
98,067
85,111
112,864
100,267
71,913
99,164
54,786
144,950
80,518
125,815
58,267
58,202
62,630
104,066
99,809
85,103
100,141
$110,365
144,977
101,686
114,934
135,409
116,625
75,086
145,888
58,946
160,850
58,600
72,690
58,498
37,304
67,116
122,989
112,971
80,704
81,618
$11,323
23,301
3,618
29,823
22,544
16,358
3,174
46,724
4,160
15,899
(21,918)
(53,125)
231
(20,898)
4,486
18,923
13,162
(4,399)
(18,523)
0.0%
0.3%
62.0%
0.0%
0.0%
7.1%
64.7%
0.0%
74.6%
47.7%
2.7%
0.0%
98.8%
5.4%
44.2%
0.8%
0.3%
47.5%
0.8%
1,451
$79,546
$87,039
$7,493
0.0%
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
29
31
33
35
37
43
47
49
51
53
Total
All Occupations
Count
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
II-35
Table 22. Average Annual Wages plus Benefits in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers
Moving from Year-Round Alaska State Government to Year-Round Private Sector Jobs
in the Same Occupation and Same Place of Work, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired
Differencesa
Average
annual
wage,
state
Average
annual
wage,
private
Average
annual
wage
change
Probability
difference
due to
chance
Occupation Code
Occupations
Female
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37
41
43
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and science
Community and Social
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Sales
Office and Administrative Support
926 $68,540
42 $104,512
42
84,736
8
88,916
12
79,776
34
75,448
30
69,540
78
82,684
28
60,840
4
65,920
89
83,040
51
59,744
4
82,248
12
72,948
4
55,912
5
53,580
479
59,228
$72,584
$117,488
98,972
90,096
100,056
98,592
67,288
130,716
67,616
74,316
92,320
45,380
44,868
29,392
28,228
53,660
55,776
$4,044
$12,976
14,236
1,184
20,280
23,144
(2,248)
48,032
6,776
8,396
9,280
(14,360)
(37,380)
(43,556)
(27,684)
80
(3,448)
0.0%
1.0%
0.0%
90.2%
11.7%
0.1%
46.4%
0.0%
34.8%
29.0%
1.4%
0.0%
28.8%
0.0%
0.1%
99.2%
0.1%
Male
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and science
Community and Social
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Office and Administrative Support
Construction Trades
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
Production
Transportation and Material Moving
491
41
15
47
55
17
11
71
7
21
4
24
5
8
41
38
37
19
25
$96,828
129,164
101,176
82,312
112,532
102,248
71,592
88,480
82,064
150,628
85,712
118,652
54,348
58,204
64,564
98,180
94,064
86,604
94,796
$108,720
146,908
105,016
105,924
129,824
116,504
74,572
133,652
65,972
155,536
65,028
69,940
48,676
36,992
68,572
122,576
109,624
78,140
75,212
$11,892
17,748
3,840
23,612
17,292
14,256
2,980
45,172
(16,092)
4,908
(20,684)
(48,712)
(5,672)
(21,208)
4,008
24,396
15,560
(8,464)
(19,584)
0.0%
1.9%
57.9%
0.0%
0.1%
25.7%
66.8%
0.0%
62.2%
83.8%
11.3%
0.0%
67.8%
5.1%
51.2%
0.0%
0.1%
18.6%
0.7%
1,421
$78,280
$85,132
$6,852
0.0%
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
29
31
33
35
37
43
47
49
51
53
Total
All Occupations
Count
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
II-36
For residents of Anchorage who moved from state government to private sector jobs in
the same occupation (Table 23), men and women both earned significantly more wages
plus benefits in management, business operations/finance, computer, science, and legal
service positions. Women earned less in private sector health-care support positions
than in the state jobs they gave up. Men also earned more in private engineering and
installation and maintenance jobs, but less in protective service work. Overall, moving
from state to private sector jobs in the state's largest labor market resulted in substantial
compensation gains for both men and women. Private sector jobs paid men on average
18 percent more than the state jobs left behind. Women earned 14 percent more in the
private sector.
The overall higher private sector compensation and occupational differences noted for
Anchorage residents changed relatively little when looking at transitions in jobs located
in Anchorage (Table 24) instead of jobs held by Anchorage residents. A notable
difference, however, is that there were many fewer women who moved from state to
private computer jobs located in Anchorage than female Anchorage residents who
moved from state to private computer jobs in general. The small number of transitions in
Anchorage workplaces meant that the positive private to state compensation differential
was not statistically significant.
II-37
Table 23. Average Annual Wages plus Benefits in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers
Moving from Year-Round Alaska State Government to Year-Round Private Sector Jobs
in the Same Occupation, Anchorage Residents, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired
Differencesa
Occupation Code
Occupations
Count
Average
annual
wage,
state
Average
annual Probability
wage
difference
change
due to
chance
Female
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
29
31
43
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and Social Science
Community and Social
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Office and Administrative Support
468
34
25
5
7
18
17
50
8
46
23
227
$81,754
128,171
102,763
105,203
95,893
116,777
68,369
141,116
54,518
97,063
46,416
58,974
$10,259
23,398
18,333
15,791
7,470
32,855
114
56,347
(9,116)
3,771
(17,680)
1,670
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
70.2%
1.0%
97.4%
0.0%
36.9%
54.5%
0.4%
25.8%
Male
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and Social Science
Community and Social
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Protective Service
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Office and Administrative Support
Construction Trades
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
Production
Transportation and Material Moving
255 $100,836 $118,875
26
114,111
142,626
11
96,757
110,618
21
83,976
111,598
33
116,133
135,525
13
87,071
118,955
4
75,542
75,255
37
99,896
156,230
5
55,865
69,461
14
151,872
205,983
16
128,313
77,877
4
48,592
35,356
18
67,461
70,758
11
102,763
104,193
15
101,860
119,576
11
85,991
74,301
12
94,762
82,766
$18,039
28,516
13,861
27,622
19,392
31,884
(287)
56,334
13,596
54,111
(50,437)
(13,236)
3,296
1,430
17,716
(11,691)
(11,996)
0.0%
0.4%
9.1%
0.0%
0.1%
0.1%
94.8%
0.0%
41.4%
13.5%
0.0%
19.2%
79.5%
82.9%
3.0%
15.1%
29.1%
723
$13,003
0.0%
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
29
33
37
43
47
49
51
53
Total
All Occupations
$71,495
104,772
84,429
89,412
88,423
83,921
68,255
84,769
63,633
93,292
64,096
57,304
Average
annual
wage,
private
$81,843
$94,846
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
II-38
Table 24. Average Annual Wages plus Benefits in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers
Moving from Anchorage Year-Round Alaska State Government to Anchorage YearRound Private Sector Jobs in the Same Occupation, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired
Differencesa
Occupation Code
Occupations
Count
Average
annual
wage,
state
Average
annual
wage,
private
Average Probability
annual difference
wage
due to
change
chance
Female
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
29
31
43
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and science
Community and Social
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Office and Administrative Support
521
33
27
6
7
22
18
63
10
55
29
243
$70,421
104,612
84,131
81,564
85,513
80,477
69,962
82,945
63,157
84,639
63,993
57,406
$79,972 $9,551
126,597 21,985
102,168 18,037
96,375 14,811
94,776
9,264
100,605 20,129
65,040 (4,922)
135,296 52,350
62,691
(465)
98,820 14,180
44,819 (19,173)
56,635
(771)
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
13.9%
65.0%
5.5%
14.7%
0.0%
96.5%
0.5%
0.0%
59.9%
Male
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and science
Community and Social
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Protective Service
Office and Administrative Support
Construction Trades
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
Production
Transportation and Material Moving
300
28
12
23
43
10
4
58
6
14
11
16
15
23
11
19
$99,131 $117,777 $18,646
126,049 147,102 21,053
98,443 111,932 13,490
79,129 103,691 24,563
112,991 129,949 16,959
88,652 120,836 32,184
74,666
74,636
(29)
87,572 142,790 55,218
54,786
58,143
3,357
153,357 190,205 36,849
132,679
67,398 (65,282)
68,039
74,065
6,025
101,229 111,718 10,489
97,267 116,060 18,793
86,962
73,132 (13,830)
96,945
85,619 (11,326)
0.0%
2.1%
6.8%
0.0%
0.4%
0.5%
99.6%
0.0%
79.4%
29.6%
0.1%
66.4%
7.2%
0.4%
9.7%
15.4%
824
$80,788
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
29
33
43
47
49
51
53
Total
All Occupations
$93,807 $13,020
0.0%
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
II-39
Gender differences were also apparent in Fairbanks and Juneau. Table 25 shows that
Fairbanks resident women gained compensation from taking private sector positions in
management, engineering, science, and education occupations, but lost ground when
taking private jobs in health-care support occupations. Fairbanks men earned more
wages plus benefits in computer and installation and maintenance occupations. Viewing
transitions for jobs located in Fairbanks (Table 26), the higher private sector
compensation for men in computer occupations is no longer statistically significant.
However, the positive differential for men working in Fairbanks construction jobs is large
and significant. Other occupational patterns are generally the same, except that there
were too few management transitions for women to report a differential by place of work.
Women living in Juneau gained compensation from taking private jobs in management
and science occupations, but lost when moving from state to private office jobs (Table
27). Male residents of Juneau, on the other hand, earned significantly more wages and
benefits by moving from state to private jobs in office occupations, as well as by taking
private sector computer and engineering positions. The patterns were broadly similar for
transitions from state to private jobs located in Juneau (Table 28). But there were too
few science transitions for women to report a differential by place of work. Considering
all occupations as a whole, the gender differences in Juneau were particularly striking.
Women experienced on average a loss in compensation of 10 percent when moving
from state to private sector jobs in Alaska's capital city. Men, on the other hand,
experienced on average a compensation gain of 10 percent.
II-40
Table 25. Average Annual Wages plus Benefits in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers
Moving from Year-Round Alaska State Government to Year-Round Private Sector Jobs
in the Same Occupation, Fairbanks Residents, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired
Differencesa
Occupation Code
Occupations
Female
11
13
17
19
21
23
25
29
31
43
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and Social Science
Community and Social
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Office and Administrative Support
Male
All Occupations
Management
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Legal
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Office and Administrative Support
Construction Trades
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
11
15
17
23
29
43
47
49
Total
All Occupations
Count
142
4
4
5
8
5
4
11
7
9
69
76
7
10
5
5
4
6
17
7
218
Average
annual
wage,
state
$65,775
106,508
87,282
80,505
62,552
58,718
103,765
49,734
90,496
47,095
60,305
Average
annual
wage,
private
Average
annual
wage
change
Probability
difference
due to
chance
$66,304
143,269
98,873
132,794
100,328
63,244
113,177
74,300
81,291
32,902
53,934
$529
36,761
11,592
52,289
37,776
4,526
9,412
24,566
(9,205)
(14,193)
(6,370)
82.4%
5.4%
15.0%
2.1%
0.0%
69.6%
58.0%
3.6%
60.0%
4.9%
2.5%
$105,461 $111,761
151,882 175,255
102,023 117,485
109,267 138,473
96,538
76,765
162,133 103,489
49,707
42,427
108,902 128,476
102,036 115,964
$6,300
23,372
15,463
29,205
(19,772)
(58,644)
(7,280)
19,574
13,927
30.9%
37.5%
2.4%
27.1%
15.7%
35.1%
54.5%
19.5%
6.1%
$2,541
38.6%
$79,611
$82,151
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
II-41
Table 26. Average Annual Wages plus Benefits in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers
Moving from Fairbanks Year-Round Alaska State Government to Fairbanks Year-Round
Private Sector Jobs in the Same Occupation, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired
Differencesa
Occupation Code
Average
annual
wage, state
Occupations
Female
13
17
19
21
23
25
29
31
43
All Occupations
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical and science
Community and Social
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Office and Administrative Support
Male
All Occupations
Management
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Legal
Protective Service
Office and Administrative Support
Construction Trades
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
11
15
17
23
33
43
47
49
Total
All Occupations
Count
136
5
4
6
5
7
10
8
8
66
63
7
10
4
5
4
4
11
4
199
$65,818
90,460
73,716
62,174
58,718
89,537
50,524
83,262
46,263
61,124
Average
annual
wage,
private
Average
annual Probability
wage
difference
change
due to
chance
$64,796
95,768
112,210
102,197
63,244
108,796
78,272
78,143
31,566
52,992
$(1,022)
5,307
38,494
40,023
4,526
19,259
27,748
(5,119)
(14,697)
(8,132)
66.8%
42.0%
10.4%
0.4%
69.6%
11.4%
3.6%
75.9%
7.0%
0.4%
$106,979 $111,870
151,882 173,932
100,803 106,247
116,239 122,320
96,538
76,765
99,575
70,455
52,617
59,051
100,391 138,096
106,931 142,389
$4,891
22,050
5,444
6,081
(19,772)
(29,120)
6,434
37,705
35,457
44.8%
40.1%
47.5%
84.9%
15.7%
47.3%
65.3%
0.2%
0.8%
$850
77.1%
$78,849
$79,699
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
II-42
Table 27. Average Annual Wages plus Benefits in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers
Moving from Year-Round Alaska State Government to Year-Round Private Sector Jobs
in the Same Occupation, Juneau Residents, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired
Differencesa
Occupation Code
Occupations
Female
11
13
19
29
31
43
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Life, Physical and Social Science
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Healthcare Support
Office and Administrative Support
Male
All Occupations
Management
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Office and Administrative Support
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
11
15
17
43
49
Total
All Occupations
Count
Average
annual
wage,
state
Average
annual
wage,
private
Average
annual Probability
wage
due to
change
chance
116
6
10
5
5
5
75
$67,264
113,305
84,049
71,826
88,867
51,610
61,036
$62,983 $(4,281)
76,929 (36,377)
92,942
8,893
106,189 34,363
77,884 (10,983)
49,905 (1,705)
55,612 (5,424)
7.7%
4.6%
36.8%
1.4%
40.3%
87.1%
1.2%
60
7
7
8
12
6
$84,923
113,507
82,479
111,606
56,211
76,877
$96,859 $11,936
111,282 (2,225)
136,113 53,635
134,127 22,521
65,824
9,613
73,478 (3,400)
0.4%
85.0%
0.0%
5.9%
8.7%
62.7%
176
$73,284
$74,532
56.6%
$1,247
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
II-43
Table 28. Average Annual Wages plus Benefits in Constant 2013 Dollars for Workers
Moving from Juneau Year-Round Alaska State Government to Juneau Year-Round
Private Sector Jobs in the Same Occupation, 2001-2014, with Test for Paired
Differencesa
Occupation Code
Occupations
Female
11
13
31
43
All Occupations
Management
Business Operations/Financial Specialists
Healthcare Support
Office and Administrative Support
Male
All Occupations
Management
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Office and Administrative Support
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
11
15
17
43
49
Total
All Occupations
Count
Average
Average
annual
annual
wage, state wage,
private
Average
annual
wage
change
Probability
difference
due to
chance
116
5
10
4
81
$66,561
110,125
83,502
48,453
61,715
$60,188 $(6,373)
66,571 (43,555)
91,942
8,440
50,250
1,797
55,171 (6,545)
0.8%
5.6%
39.8%
89.2%
0.2%
60
5
8
8
13
7
$83,589
118,860
76,600
108,219
58,049
77,984
$92,805
120,231
120,867
132,898
64,949
70,812
$9,217
1,371
44,267
24,680
6,900
(7,172)
6.2%
93.2%
0.0%
5.7%
22.8%
27.5%
176
$72,366
$71,308 $(1,058)
65.0%
a
Occupations with fewer than four transitions are included in the totals but not shown separately, to avoid
disclosing confidential information.
II-44
Summary of Evidence from Private Sector-State Employment Transitions
More often than not, a job transition from one sector to the other was associated with an
increase in earnings. As noted above, however, men moving from private to state jobs
did not see any significant earnings gain, and women lost considerable earnings when
moving from state to private jobs in Juneau. On average, compensation differentials
from transitions in one direction were about 12 percent higher across the board than the
same differential for transitions in the other direction. Averaging the results from
transitions since 2000 in both directions, the results showed that on average, private
sector wage scales were 14 percent higher than state wage scales for the occupations
most prevalent among state employees. Employee benefits offered in government jobs
are typically greater than those offered by private sector employers. However, after
accounting for the difference in benefits, we estimate that private sector compensation
was on average still 4 percent higher than compensation in state jobs.
The figures cited above are averages for all state employees. Underlying these
averages, we found significant differences by gender as well as by occupation. Private
over state differentials were 2-3 percent higher for men than for women on average
when considering wages alone, and 4-5 percent higher when estimated benefits were
included. We therefore estimate that private sector wage levels were about 12 percent
higher for women and 15 percent higher for men than public sector wage levels.
Including benefits, we estimate that total compensation was about 1.5 percent higher in
the private sector for women, and about 6 percent higher for men.
The fact that private sector compensation generally exceeded compensation in similar
state jobs does not necessarily mean that private sector jobs are more attractive overall.
The fact that there were many more transitions from private to state employment than
the reverse suggests that there are likely other benefits from state jobs that offer a more
attractive working environment but do not show up in compensation levels. For example,
job security is likely higher in state employment, and other working conditions associated
with the represented work force may differ, as far fewer private sector jobs are governed
by collective bargaining agreements. The persistently greater private over state
compensation differentials for men than for women suggest that these noncompensation employee benefits of state employment may be particularly important to
women.
Although private sector compensation was on average somewhat higher than
compensation in state government positions, we noted important differences among
occupations. Positive private sector pay differentials were the most prevalent and largest
in management, business and finance, computer, engineering, science, and legal
positions. Many more men than women are employed in these professions, tending to
reinforce the higher private sector compensation differentials for men. Compensation
offered by the State of Alaska for health-care support and food service jobs—
occupations with more women than men—was more often higher than in the private
sector. The state also offered a compensation advantage for women, but not men, in
office occupations. On the other hand, private employers generally paid less than the
state for positions in protective service, building and grounds maintenance, and
transportation occupations, where most of the workers are men. Many of the
occupations with higher state compensation were relatively low paying occupations,
while those occupations with the largest private sector advantage were among the
highest paid.
II-45
Results for state-to-private and private-to-state transitions that did not involve a
geographic move uncovered relatively few important geographic differentials. In general,
however, private over state pay differentials were higher in Anchorage—where the
private sector labor market is the largest and most robust—than in other Alaska
communities. The differences by gender showed up most strongly in Juneau, where
women fared better in state positions than in private sector positions, while men earned
more in the private sector.
II-46