The public’s satisfaction with federal government services continued to decline in 2015, according to the American Consumer Satisfaction Index, down 0.8 percent to 63.9, which is 3.9 points lower than in 2007.
The pace of the decrease slowed somewhat from the immediate prior years, though, and the current figure is not far below the 65.4 registered in 2010, the low point during that period that was followed by a rise in 2011 and 2012. “Moreover, small gains in citizen perceptions about their experiences with government—such as customer service and information quality—may suggest a rebound in citizen satisfaction in the year ahead,” the report said.
“Citizens find information received from agencies to be clearer and more accessible compared with a year ago. Likewise, the timeliness and efficiency of processes improves, as well as customer service (measured as courtesy and professionalism of staff). User perceptions of website quality (ease and usefulness) are unchanged year-over-year,” it said.
Views of local government were about at the same level—essentially tied for last among the 11 sectors studied–with the manufacturing/durable goods sector leading studied with 78 percent satisfaction. All other sectors rated at least 74 percent positive except for information at 69.
By agency, Interior (75), State (71), and DoD (70) lead, with Treasury (55), Justice (59) and VA (60) at the bottom. Treasury’s low rating is largely driven by its component IRS, the report said.
