The restaurant and computer industries enjoy the best net perception among US adults, reports Gallup in its latest annual look at US business sectors. The restaurant industry supplanted last year’s leader, the computer industry, with 66% viewing it favorably as opposed to just 7% seeing it negatively.
While the computer industry also was rated positively by 66% of adult respondents, a larger proportion (13%) have a negative view of it.
The net perception ratings are determined by taking the percentage of respondents with a positive overall view of the industry and subtracting from that the percentage with a negative view. Restaurants (+59) and computers (+53) were the clear leaders, with their next-closest competitor, the grocery industry (+36) well behind.
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Among the highlights:
- The travel industry fared well with a net positive perception of +27, though that was down 10 points from last year’s results;
- The internet industry, with a net positive rating of +29, was down from last year’s +44, but up from 2014’s net score of +29;
- The auto (+29) and retail (+26) industries were both among the top-tier of performers;
- The airline industry (+15) saw a sizable jump from last year’s net rating of +3; while
- Net perceptions of the TV and radio industry fell 10 points from last year to +2.
As for the advertising and PR industry? It came as close as possible to being among the worst-rated business sectors (those with net negative ratings). Just 35% of adults hold a positive view of the advertising & PR industry, a figure equaled by the 35% with a negative view of the industry. The resultant net rating of 0 is down from last year’s +7 rating.
The worst-rated of them all is the federal government, with a net negative perception of -27. It’s closely followed by the pharmaceutical industry, which tumbled 15 points to a net negative rating of -23, its worst result in the Gallup survey’s 16-year history. The healthcare industry also saw a decline in perception, plummeting 14 points to a net negative rating of -20.
About the Data: The results are based on telephone interviews conducted Aug. 3-7, 2016, with a random sample of 1,032 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Each industry was rated by a randomly chosen half sample of respondents. Results for each industry have a margin of sampling error of ±6 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
