InformationWeek's newly released salary survey lends fuel to the politically charged issue of how much government employees are paid. Our data shows that federally employed IT managers and staffers out-earn their private sector counterparts by about 10%.The issue of government employee compensation took on political overtones in January when Scott Brown called for a freeze on federal raises during his successful run for the U.S. Senate. Texas rep Joe Barton took things a step further when he launched in inquiry into how many workers at nine federal agencies make six-figure salaries.

A USA Today report in March showed that federal employees earned more than private sector workers in 180 of 216 job categories, including computer and information systems managers. That analysis, however, was based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data from 2008.

InformationWeek's 2010 salary survey shows that, on average, government IT pros continue to earn more than private sector IT pros. Federal IT managers earn $121,000 in median total compensation, compared to $110,000 for IT managers across all industries surveyed. Federal IT staffers are paid a median total compensation of $94,000, compared to $85,000 among all respondents in that job classification. Our survey was completed by 20,492 IT pros in more than 20 industries, including 931 in federal government.

The caveats to those findings: In general, federal IT salaries are flat compared to last year. And federal IT workers aren't the only ones outperforming the average. IT staffers in the biotech, electronics, energy, IT, securities, and telecom industries also make more than the norm.

Federal IT workers also enjoy a greater sense of job security and job satisfaction compared to their private sector counterparts, which isn't surprising given the higher salaries and their insulation from the private sector's layoffs and incessant cost cutting. You can download our complete InformationWeek Analytics Salary Survey 2010: Government, with all of the data and my analysis, here.

InformationWeek has published an in-depth report based on its 2010 IT Salary Survey. Download the report here (registration required).