WA State House Ways and Means Chair Ross Hunter's data on state employee compensation

Data on State Employee Compensation
Despite conservative claims to the contrary the number of state workers per 1000 residents is decreasing significantly, and state employee wages are not in general higher than private sector workers.

“The end result is a 13.5% drop in general government state employees per thousand residents. Total employees, not adjusting for population is a 7.3% decline. Comparing compensation is a little more complex.” In general, lower paid state workers make more than equivalent private sector workers, but professional state workers earn less than their private sector counterparts.