Americans again rate U.S. Postal Service as ‘most trusted federal agency’ according to study

DENVER, CO — Americans have again rated the U.S. Postal Service as the “Most Trusted Federal Government Agency” for the fourth year in a row. These findings were reported recently in an independent study done by the Ponemon Institute, which annually researches Americans’ perceptions of trust in business and government.

More than 86 percent of the 9,000 Americans surveyed by the Ponemon Institute ranked the Postal Service first among 74 agencies and as best able to keep their information safe and secure. The Postal Service has increased its privacy trust score every year since the survey began four years ago.

The survey asked 9,000 Americans, selected at random, to rank 74 federal agencies based on the agency’s ability to handle and protect personal information. Questions ranged from factors creating trust in the agency, to the levels of confidence consumers have in the agency to protect and secure their information.

The Postal Service’s top index score of 86 percent in the trust survey was three points higher than last year. Coming in second was the Federal Trade Commission at 82 percent, followed by the Bureau of Consumer Protection at 79 percent, the Census Bureau at 75 percent and the National Institutes of Health at 73 percent. Lowest ranking in the survey went to the Customs and Border Protection Service at 20 percent, the National Security Agency at 21 percent and Central Intelligence Agency at 23 percent.

Officials believe the Postal Service’s high trust index score reflects the trusted relationship Americans have with their local Post Office, and especially with their letter carriers, who deliver the mail to their homes and businesses six days a week.

Because of this, the Postal Service truly is not a ‘faceless’ agency. Many customers get to know their local letter carrier or the postal employees who serve them at their local Post Office.

Consumer trust and confidence in the mail is also a top priority for the Postal Service and its two law enforcement support organizations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Office of Inspector General.

Copies of the 2008 Privacy Trust Study of the United States Government are available by contacting the Ponemon Institute at www.ponemon.org.

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An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that visits every address in the nation — 146 million homes and businesses. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses, not tax dollars. The Postal Service has annual revenues of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.