Quarterly Update On U.S. Overall Customer Satisfaction And Commentary On The Information Sector

Information Sector Lags Behind as Aggregate Customer Satisfaction Slowly Improves.

As of the first quarter of 2012, the national ACSI score continues to steadily improve, gaining ground in four of the last five quarters. Up 0.1% to 75.9 (on a 0 to 100 scale), aggregate national customer satisfaction is now higher than it has been since the third quarter of 2010.

The weakness of the U.S. economy remains even though employment is edging back—at least for the private sector. Unemployment in the public sector continues to get worse and wages are stagnating. Due to the increase in hiring in the private sector, productivity actually fell in the first quarter. Worker earnings, adjusted for inflation, also fell. As a result, it would be unlikely for consumer spending to increase by much. ACSI data from last year predicted a 2.8% consumer spending growth for the first quarter of 2012, more than most other forecasts. Actual spending turned out to be 2.9%, one of the bright spots in an otherwise bleak GDP report.

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