Americans Still Believe Private Sector Workers Work Harder, Get Less Than Government Workers

American adults, as they have for years, believe that government workers have it better than those in the private sector.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows that just eight percent (8%) believe government workers work harder than workers in the private sector. Sixty-six percent (66%) disagree and say private sector employees work harder, while another 26% are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Even 41% of government workers say those in the private sector work harder than they do, but 43% more are not sure.

However, 54% think the government worker earns more money annually than the average private sector worker, while just 22% disagree. Another 24% are undecided.

Sixty-six percent (66%) believe government workers have more job security than those who work in the private sector, while just 12% believe they have less security. Fourteen percent (14%) say government and private sector workers have about the same level of job security.

Results for all three questions have changed little from October and are consistent with findings over the past two years. 

(Want a free daily e-mail update ? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on December 1-2, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.