don’t forget to include those golden benefits in their pay package (Cadillac health plans, lifetime pensions, both which ask of little contributions from the employee compared to us regular working schmo’s)...
Can we please dispense with the canard of lifetime pensions? The feds went to a 401K type (defined contribution) plan at least 15 years ago. Yes, there are current employees who were hired under the old system, but new employees are under the defined contribution plan.
You can also expect to see a trend toward "term" contracts, such as the FDIC has done the past two years. They staffed up to handle the ongoing crisis with two-year contracts, with a potential two-year extension at the option of the employer.
You'll get no argument from me on other benefits: they're awesome compared to the private companies I worked for.