The General Schedule (GS) pay scale is used to determine the salaries of most federal civilian employees. In 2023, President Biden signed an executive order that will increase GS pay by 4.6% in 2024 and 4.1% in 2025. This pay raise is the largest in over a decade and is intended to help federal employees keep up with the rising cost of living.
The 2025 GS pay raise will benefit over 2 million federal employees. The pay raise will be retroactive to the first pay period of 2025, and employees will receive back pay for the difference between their old and new salary rates. The pay raise will also increase the minimum wage for federal employees to $15 per hour.