Amity Shlaes on the New Jobscape

http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2010/02/amity-shlaes-on-the-new-jobscape

Amity Shlaes has a column up at Bloomberg News on how government jobs are crushing the entrepreneurial spirit:

Jobs with Uncle Sam aren't just more numerous than they used to be. They're better. Wages and benefits for federal civilian workers were more than double the average total compensation in the private sector: $119,982 versus $59,909. In the treacherous period between December 2007 and mid-2009, the number of federal employees earning more than $100,000 doubled, rising to 66,500 or so. Much of this was due to locked-in raises for workers who were rising through the ranks.

Then there's the allure of the stability of a federal job. About one in five jobs at the federal level ends in firing or resignation. By contrast that rate is one in two in the private sector, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey....The new relative appeal of a government job sends a message that private-sector work, especially self-employment or a job at a start-up, may not be worthwhile.

by Editor  |  Feb 17, 2010 at 9:33 am Related Topics:  Compensation receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list