SWS: 46 percent see better life in next 12 months

MANILA, Philippines — Forty-six percent of Filipinos expect the quality of their lives to improve in the next 12 months, a recent survey conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed.

Results of the survey taken from June 28 to July 1 were released yesterday. The 46 percent is almost similar to the 45 percent obtained in a similar survey conducted in March.

Meanwhile, the number of those who expect their lives to worsen in the next 12 months decreased by a point from six percent to five percent.

Some 44 percent said it will stay the same, up from 42 percent, while the remaining five percent did not give an answer.

The latest survey resulted in a “net personal optimism” score of +41, classified as “excellent” by SWS.

This is compared to the “very high” +38 obtained in the March survey.

The “net personal optimism” score is obtained by subtracting those who said their lives will worsen from those who said their lives will improve in the next 12 months.

According to SWS, optimism for a better quality of life has trended upwards to pre-pandemic levels since the country recorded its historic low of -19 in May 2020. It was at +44 in December 2019.

Across areas, highest was among respondents in balance Luzon at +44 (from +37), followed by those in Metro Manila at +41 (from +45), Visayas at +39 (from +27) and Mindanao at +36 (from +47).

It was highest among college graduates at +50 (from +45), followed by high school graduates at +47 (from +42), elementary graduates at +32 (from +35) and non-elementary graduates at +29 (from +28).

SWS said optimism for a better life was higher among those who said their lives improved in the past 12 months and those who rated themselves as “not poor.”

The survey had 1,500 adult respondents and a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percent for national percentages.