When it comes to staying on the payroll it looks like one of the best places to be is still working for the federal government. If, at the first blush, that seems to be a little bit out of sync you have to remember that we are talking about the feds only, not the state or local governments that have been so cash strapped in the recent past have been laying off left and right.

As it turns out if you can get a job with the federal government then you could be in a fairly stable position with higher pay then you expect. Let’s begin with stability factor, because after all a good salary does not mean much if you cannot manage to hold onto it.

During the past couple of years, while President Obama has been running the show and deciding on the direction of the federal government, there have actually been a lot more layoffs. Seriously, research published by USA Today shows that layoffs under the Obama administration have gone down by a significant amount. To quote that research, “Under the Obama administration, layoffs from reorganizations have dropped by two-thirds to fewer than 300 a year in the 2.1 million person workforce. Workers are 13 times more likely to die of natural causes than get laid off from the federal government.”

Yes, you read that right, they are more likely to die then to be laid off in the last three years. Considering the state of the global economy, and the fact that all federal employees have health insurance, that is saying quite a lot.

Of course, that is not to say that government jobs on the federal level have not been shrinking, but for other reasons.  Currently the number of workers who quit are down by 29%, but they are not entirely non-existent. The number of people who are retiring is down by 11% at the normal age, the early retirements are down about two-thirds. While some people are still leaving because of disability issues it is down by one-third.

So it seems like by getting a job with the federal government is good for long-term stability. Now, lets talk about getting your hands on a nice paycheck. According to the same research cited about the starting salaries for federal workers have gone up by a significant amount and not just for specific jobs roles. It seems like salaries are higher across the board.

To quote the research again, “A 20- to 24-year-old auto mechanic started at an average of $46,427 this year, up from $36,750 five years ago. The government hires about 400 full-time auto mechanics a year. A 30- to 34-year-old lawyer started at an average of $101,045 this year, up from $79,177 five years ago. The government hires about 2,500 lawyers a year. And a mechanical engineer, age 25 to 29, started at $63,675, up from $51,746 in 2006.” You can see how these are some significant increases under the tenure of President Obama.

So, when you’re in search of a new job consider the Federal government.