President Biden Finalizes 5.2 percent Raise for Federal Employees in 2024
It’s an early holiday present for many federal employees, as President Biden made the 2024 pay raise official.
Federal employees will receive an average raise of 5.2 percent starting with their first full cycle January paychecks, as President Biden signed an executive order (EO) finalizing the pay raise. The raise matches the pay proposal the president submitted in August.
Members of the U.S. military are also on track to receive a 5.2 percent raise, once President Biden signs the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (NDAA).
Largest Raise in 40 Years
It is the largest pay raise for federal workers since the Carter Administration adopted a 9.1 percent raise in 1980. It’s also a 0.6 percent increase over last year’s pay raise.
“This welcomed pay raise demonstrates an understanding of the value of these hard-working civil servants and the jobs they do, as well as displays the administration’s ongoing commitment to recruitment and retention of talented federal employees,” said National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE) President William Shackelford, as reported by the Federal Times.
The 5.2 percent rate is an average. All employees on the General Schedule (GS) will receive a raise of 4.7 percent before the locality pay bump of 0.5 percent kicks in. Some employees will see more than that, some less, based on where the employees work.
Locality Pay
Employees in the Seattle-Tacoma, Washington locality area will receive the biggest raise in 2024 at 5.7 percent, followed by San Francisco-San Jose-Oakland, California at 5.62 percent. Employees based in the national capital region will receive a 5.31 percent raise. Employees in the Houston- The Woodlands, Texas area will receive the lowest locality pay bump at 4.89 percent.
For 2024, four new areas were added to locality pay.
Employees in the Fresno-Madera-Hanford, California locality will receive a 5.28 percent raise.
Employees in the Reno-Fernley, Nevada locality will receive a 5.25 percent raise.
Employees in the Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls, New York locality will receive a 5.46 percent raise.
Employees in the Spokane-Spokane Valley-Coeur d’Alene, Washington-Idaho locality will receive a 5.31 percent raise.
Pay Tables
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published pay tables with updated salary information after the issuing of the EO. Those include GS pay tables, law enforcement pay tables, pay tables for executive and senior level employees, as well as special rate tables.
Despite the boost in salaries, the Federal Salary Council reported in the fall that federal employees make an average of 27.54 percent less than private sector counterparts in similar jobs.
The pay gap between federal employees and the private sector has remained over 20 percent each year since 2007, giving federal leaders additional challenges to overcome in the fight for talent.