Earlier this week, Govexec.com published a story based on a recent compensation survey that shows Washington, DC federal employees are receiving pay increases comparable to those of private sector workers in 2008.

According to the survey by the Human Resource Association of the National Capital Area, both feds and private-sector employees in the Washington, DC area received an average pay hike of 4.5 percent between 2006 and 2007.

Of course, a survey that compares averages across public and private sectors will always struggle to account for all variables at play. This survey falls short in considering federal employees receive the national raise and the locality pay raise only if their performance is not unfavorable and they aren't completely miserable people to work with. This is particularly true for feds under a pay-for-performance system.

Similarly, federal employees that receive a fully successful or higher rating are eligible for performance awards ranging from $500 to $10,000, depending on their salary grade and performance rating. Such raises can skew survey results (and incite much office gossip).

In comparing federal wages to those of the private sector, some of the government's employment nuances may also bias comparison results by not comparing salaries by occupation. With the fed hiring far more white collar employees than the private sector, salary data comparisons between federal and private sector workplaces look more like comparisons between apples and oranges. What's more, in hard to fill positions, the government ends up paying high salaries for its employees.

While not entirely an accurate portrayal of federal salaries, the survey provides somewhat of a snapshot into the competitiveness of federal jobs. Perhaps this data, along with the benefits and recession-proof nature of government employment, can help dispel prevailing opinions keeping many young people away from government.

Related Stories:

Federal vs state worker wages: who's making out better?
Federal employees go AWOL
Federal Pay Outpaces Private Sector?
Senior executives express dissatisfaction with pay
Boring but important: Senate passes 3.9 percent civilian pay raise