Some of you may have noticed that there is an economic recession. Times are tough — unless you work for the Feds.

The number of federal workers earning six-figure salaries increased sharply during the recession. The trend to six-figure salaries is occurring throughout the federal government, in agencies big and small, high-tech and low-tech. The primary cause: substantial pay raises and new salary rules.

USA TODAY analyzed the Office of Personnel Management's database that tracks salaries of more than 2 million federal workers. Excluded from OPM's data:

• the White House
• Congress
• US Postal Service
• intelligence agencies
• uniformed military personnel.
  

Federal employees making salaries of $100,000 or more jumped from 14% to 19% of civil servants during the recession's first 18 months — and that's before overtime pay and bonuses are counted.

• The highest-paid federal employees are doing best of all on salary increases. Defense Department civilian employees earning $150,000 or more increased from 1,868 in December 2007 to 10,100 in June 2009.
  
  
• When the recession started, the Transportation Department had only one person earning a salary of $170,000 or more. Eighteen months later, 1,690 employees had salaries above $170,000.
  
  
• The growth in six-figure salaries has pushed the average federal worker's pay to $71,206, compared with $40,331 in the private sector.
  

Key reasons for the boom in six-figure salaries:

• Pay hikes.
  
  
  • Then-president Bush recommended — and Congress approved — across-the-board raises of 3% in January 2008 and 3.9% in January 2009.
    
  • President Obama has recommended the smallest pay raises since 1975: 2% pay raises in January 2010.
    
    
• Longevity pay hikes. Most federal workers also get "steps" that average 1.5% per year.


• New pay system. Congress created a new National Security Pay Scale for the Defense Department to reward merit, in addition to the across-the-board increases. The merit raises, which started in January 2008, were larger than expected and rewarded high-ranking employees. In October, Congress voted to end the new pay scale by 2012.
  
  
• Paycaps eased. Many top civil servants are prohibited from making more than an agency's leader. If Congress lifts the boss' salary, others get raises, too. When the Federal Aviation Administration chief's salary rose, nearly 1,700 employees' had their salaries lifted above $170,000, too."
  

Recession? What recession?