Roy Morgan has just released my favourite poll of theirs — public perceptions of ethics and honesty for various professions. They ask the following question:

As I say different occupations, could you please say — from what you know or have heard — which rating best describes how you, yourself, would rate or score people in various occupations for honesty and ethical standards (Very High, High, Average, Low, Very Low)?

Looking at just the proportion of the public that give either “high” or “very high” ratings, nurses come in top with 89% closely followed by pharmacists on 84%. The lowest for the 20th year running is car salesman on 3%, with advertising people on 6% then newspaper journalists on 9%.

I’ve bundled up the responses in a little app below that traces the high/very high response proportions since 1979 for various professions. The survey came with a smallish sample of 687 where the MoE’s for each can be calculated via The Poll Cruncher if you feel that way inclined. Click on the image below to test your professional reputation.