A study commissioned by a union-backed think tank says reports that state and local government employees in Michigan are overpaid compared to workers in the private sector are wrong.
The study is by the Washington D.C. based Economic Policy Institute.
It says college-educated public employees earn 21% less than private sector workers with degrees.
It also found local government workers were compensated at about the same rate as their private sector counterparts.
Jeff Keefe is the Rutgers University management and labor relations professor who conducted the study:
"So the study concludes that state government employees are under-compensated in the state of Michigan, while local government employees are neither over- or under-compensated in the state of Michigan."
The report takes into account education, salaries, and benefits.
Ethan Pollack, with the Economic Policy Institute, says employee compensation is not the biggest factor behind the state’s budget trouble:
"Michigan isn't significantly different than the deficits you are seeing all across the country…This is not about over-compensation of public sector workers. This is [about] two things. The cyclical deficit is from the recession, and the structural deficit is health care costs."
The Economic Policy Institute says its seven-state study found growing health care costs, and not employee compensation, are the biggest factor in budget deficits.
