The gap between public employees’ pay and that of similar positions in the private sector has been growing during this great recession. Public employee pay has on average been growing, albeit at slower pace lately, while private sector comparables have seen their pay and hours cut, thus widening the gap. Most data showing this actually understate the trend, since there is a time lag to the reported numbers. In addition, absolute numbers of private employees have shrunk during the recession, while the number of public employees has grown, despite the occassional ballyhooed layoff of teachers, cops, and firefighters.
