The US federal government is viewed negatively by most Americans, poll finds
The pharmaceutical and advertising industries are unpopular with Americans, but they feel much better about farming and restaurant sectors, per a new survey.
America is waiting in anticipation to see if a federal funding deal will be reached by midnight tomorrow to avoid a government shutdown — which would mark the 22nd shutdown in the last five decades and the fourth since 2018.
Regardless of whether the shutdown goes ahead — and if it’s met with a wave of mass resignations or mass firings, or both — Americans’ view of the US government as a whole appears to have soured.
An updated survey from Gallup for 2025, published last Thursday, asked US adults to rate 25 key business sectors on a five-point scale from “very positive” to “very negative,” and found that the federal government was the worst-rated sector, with more than 6 in 10 respondents reporting a negative view.
This places the government below the pharmaceutical industry, which has been at the lowest position in the ranking for the last two years. In a year that’s seen sky-high tariffs for pharmaceutical product imports, the sector’s share of positive ratings has increased by 8% from 2024, while the government’s has sunk by 3%.
Still, along with healthcare, both sectors scored very few neutral responses.
Vocation mode
On the other end of the spectrum, the data showed that Americans’ favorite sectors were food-adjacent farming and restaurant industries (60% and 52% positive, respectively), as well as the computer industry (59%), which have all earned consistently positive ratings in the survey’s 24-year history, per Gallup.
So, the administration reaching fever pitch aside: Americans love food being put on the table, the table the food is being put on, and the machine that can help them find the best food and best tables.
