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Economic Report

By Jesse Russell

It pays to work in the public sector. Research from the Employee Benefit Research Institute found that as of June 2005 - government workers earn on average $24.17 in wages plus $11.29 in benefits. In the private sector workers receive $17.21 for wages and only $7.03 for benefits. That's an $11.22 per hour gap or a 46 percent pay difference. Bringing down the private sector is the glut of service jobs replacing higher paying jobs in the United States.