Most federal employees are set to start the new year making a little more cash after President Joe Biden signed an executive order Monday.
The executive order, announced Monday by the White House, said that a 2% pay increase will be given to most civilian federal employees starting on January 2025. According to reporting from Federal News Network, the raise is part of set increases proposed throughout the year.
According to the executive order, the 2% increase is an average, as raises for employees will be determined by location. Therefore, some will see slightly more or less than a 2% pay raise.
Another pay increase of 4.5% was given to military members as part of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act. Earlier this year, a pay raise of 5.2% on average was given to federal employees, making it the largest increase in 40 years.
The Office of Personnel Management told the Federal News Network that the pay raise “recognizes the federal workforce’s dedication and service to the American people and positions the federal government to better compete in the labor market to attract and retain a well-qualified federal workforce while accounting for the fiscal constraints federal agencies face in fiscal 2025.”
Biden also recently announced Christmas Eve as a day off for the country’s more than 2 million federal employees.
The White House announced on Thursday that Biden signed an executive order gifting federal employees the day off on Dec. 24, 2024.
“All executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government shall be closed and their employees excused from duty on Tuesday, December 24, 2024, the day before Christmas Day,” according to the White House’s announcement.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
