State and Local Government Pay and Benefit Growth Has Outpaced Private Sector, Report Finds

Route Fifty: Pension benefits have helped drive overall compensation growth rates for state and local government employees over the past two decades to levels that have edged out the pace of increases in the private sector, according to new research from a conservative think tank.

Despite these findings, state and local governments around the U.S. continue to report difficulties filling jobs, especially in fields like law enforcement, information technology and engineering. And teachers last year went on strike in West Virginia, and staged walk outs in states including Arizona and Oklahoma over pay and other issues.

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