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BUSINESS

66% Say Private Sector Employees Work Harder Than Government Workers

Most Americans still believe government workers work less and make more money than those employed by private companies. Yet while the majority also thinks government workers enjoy more job security, they’re less convinced of that than they were a year ago.  

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that only 11% of Adults think those employed by the government work harder than workers in the private sector. Sixty-six percent (66%) say those employed by private companies work harder. Twenty-three percent (23%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Still, that’s a little less negative view of the government work force than Americans have expressed in the past. Seventy-one percent (71%) felt those in the private sector work harder in December 2009.

Fifty-two percent (52%) now think the average government worker earns more annually than the average private sector employee, down from a high of 61% last April. Twenty-six percent (26%) disagree and say government workers do not earn more, while 22% are not sure.

Sixty-three percent (63%) of Americans also believe that government workers have more job security than those employed in the private sector, a number that’s been trending down from 77% in surveys since April 2010. Fifteen percent (15%) say government workers have less job security, and 14% say the level of job security is about the same.

(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 June 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.

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